


Jabberwock

by VesperLord



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Non-Explicit Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-08-14 20:23:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 18,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8027746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VesperLord/pseuds/VesperLord
Summary: The survivors of Monokuma's killing game inside the Neo World Program have woken up, and are doing their best to survive on the real Jabberwock island, preparing it for their comatose friends. Before too long, four young children arrive as well, and they begin to build a community. However, there are many who do not approve of this group, and will do anything to manipulate, disrupt, or simply destroy it. And not all of the threats are external...NOTE: While Danganronpa 3's Despair Arc will have influence on this, and Future Arc will too, it will be separate from Future Arc, and some events might not occur as they do in Despair Arc.THE JABBERWOCK COUNTER: A tool to show how many people are currently alive/non-comatose on Jabberwock Island. Similar to the death counter in Future Arc, except it doesn't only go down when people die, just when their feet are no longer touching the island.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Jabberwock Island**

It had been a week since the Neo World Program ended. As expected, nobody other than the five ‘survivors’ of Monokuma’s killing game had woken up. The Future Foundation members had left only a day after they’d woken up, and the others had been alone since. They sat around a table, eating their breakfast. The awkward silence that had been there since they had left the program was, of course, still there. At least, until one of the former Remnants of Despair spoke up.

“What do we do?” Sonia Nevermind asked. “For the past week, we’ve sat around doing practically nothing, and just waiting for them to wake up.”

“Well, what the fuck are we supposed to do?” Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu spoke up. “They’re asleep, they’re not likely to wake up, and there’s no way in hell we can head back to the mainland. We don’t even know if we’re safe here!”

“I agree with Miss Sonia, we need to find something to do. I’m bored out of my mind.” Kazuichi Souda complained.

“I’m fine just hanging out in the kitchen all day…” Akane Owari shrugged.

“Terrible idea.” Kuzuryu said. “We all know what you’d do if you had free reign in there…”

A new voice joined the fray, this one unheard to all but one of the group. _“Listen to them bickering… if you let me take charge, I’d sort them out within ten seconds. This island would have been running efficiently from day one.”_

Hajime Hinata heard this voice, and his grip on his glass tightened. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it since leaving the program. The voice of Izuru Kamukura had been a constant presence inside his head, demanding Hinata give control to him. Hinata had refused, remaining persistent. He remembered taking a backseat before, and he hated it. He knew Kamukura was simply suffering from the same frustration, but the body was his.

Hinata had cut his hair since leaving the program, and washed the black dye out of it. He couldn’t change the eyes, though. Those were still red. He had no clue what had happened to make them that way, but he didn’t like it.

“We should come up with a schedule.” Hinata muttered. “Somebody to cook, somebody to be on watch, somebody to take care of trash, somebody to take care of the others, and someone to go around and assess problems.”

Murmurs of agreement rang out throughout the table.

“I’ll go get some paper and a pen.” Sonia got up, Souda tagging along behind her.

“Jesus christ…” Kuzuryu muttered. “Why’d he make it out?”

“Not this again.” Owari groaned.

“I’m serious! He’s annoying as all fuck, and Sonia clearly doesn’t like him! When will the bastard get the hint?”

“I get you don’t like him, but you need to live with it. Unless you want to go to the mainland.” Hinata’s voice almost seemed challenging to Kuzuryu.

“I’m just saying… he needs to learn to-”

A siren interrupted the conversation.

The trio in the dining hall abandoned their meals and ran to the docks, taking a boat to the central island. They ran inside the building where they had woken up from the simulation. Owari and Kuzuryu rushed to the pod that screams and sobs were coming from, while Hinata moved to the control panel to open it. He tapped on the touchscreen until the pod holding Gundam Tanaka opened.

Tanaka sat up once he could, a look of horror on his face that Hinata had never seen before. Owari attempted to comfort him, but Tanaka shoved her away.

“The things we did…” He whispered.

Hinata bit his lip, concerned. Tanaka had never acted like this before. Even when he was being executed in the simulation, Tanaka hadn’t acted like this. He’d never seemed so… broken.

 _“You don’t know the right things to say.”_ Kamukura’s voice cut in. _“I do. I know the exact words needed to comfort him now. Let me take over and Tanaka will be good as new.”_

 _“Shut up.”_ Hinata thought. _“I can figure this out.”_

Hinata’s interference was not needed, however, as Sonia came rushing in. She enveloped Tanaka in a hug, and nodded towards the others.

“Let’s go.” Hinata said quietly to the others. “Sonia’s got this.”

Kuzuryu and Owari followed him back into the foyer, where Souda was seated.

“Tanaka’s up first… wow.” Souda shook his head. “Here I thought it’d be Komaeda.”

“Yeah, didn’t what’shisname say that him and Mikan were more likely to wake up first?” Owari muttered. “I honestly wasn’t confident anyone would wake up at all…”

Hinata glanced over at Kuzuryu, who seemed lost in thought. A rare grinned burst out across the Yakuza’s face. “The others will wake up any day now! This is a good sign! Enoshima didn’t achieve jack shit with this!”

“I bet you fifty bucks it’ll be old man Nidai next!” Owari grinned.

“We don’t have any money, dumbass.” Kuzuryu sighed.

Hinata sat down next to Souda. “What are your feelings on this?”

Souda sighed. “I… look, you all know I don’t like the guy… and you all know why… but… at least he isn’t dead. Hell, I’m sure that after not too long he’ll be annoying the hell outta me with his ‘Dark Overlord’ bullshit.”

“I’m glad he woke up before we had to make the schedule… less work that way.” Hinata said, a smile on his face as Sonia and Tanaka walked out, hand in hand. “Gundam… are you OK?” He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth, of course Tanaka wasn’t OK.

“I… could be worse.” Gundam muttered, sitting in one of the empty seats.

Hinata glanced at Souda, who he had expected to make an idiotic comment long before now. While it was clear Souda had noticed the hand holding, and didn’t like it, he hadn’t said anything.

 _“Maybe you aren’t all doomed for failure after all.”_ Kamukura mused inside his head.

Hinata ignored him, and got to work making the schedules. He smiled, not letting Kamukura get to him. His friends were going to wake up. And they’d do what they hadn’t been able to do in the simulation, and make a home on Jabberwock Island.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 6


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The former Warriors of Hope attempt to escape Towa city, based in information given to them by Komaru Naegi.

**Chapter 2**

**Towa City**

“The way is clear.” Nagisa Shingetsu said, indicating for his friends to follow.

The quartet of children ran down to the docks, seeing the boat docked there.

“You think her information is right?” Masaru Daimon asked, nursing his left arm to his chest. It had been injured quite badly in a confrontation with a group of angry adults a few days ago, and it hurt for him to move it.

“I really hope so.” Kotoko Utsugi muttered, walking towards the boat.

“Don’t you think we should check it for bombs or something? I mean, lots of other adults hate us… why should that one be different?” Jataro Kemuri asked.

“Because Komaru Naegi’s a good adult. They’re rare, but they do exist.” Shingetsu said.

“But it came from the Future Foundation, and they don’t really like us, do they?” Kemuri again, as the group climbed onto the boat.

“Nagisa, do you even know how to drive a boat?” Utsugi asked.

Shingetsu blinked. He didn’t know, and hadn’t counted piloting as a factor needed to escape the island.

“Nagisa…” Utsugi scowled.

“Well… hold on… it might have autopilot.” Shingetsu pulled up the boat’s control panel and began pushing buttons.

“Autopilot, engaged. Course set for Jabberwock Island.” a female voice said.

Shingetsu grinned, sitting down as the boat started up. His grin turned to a look of horror as he saw the creatures following him. “Monokumas…”

“Bomb Monokumas!” Kotoko yelped.

Explosions rocked the docks, and one bomb even landed in the boat, only thrown out by Daimon at the last second. Tears flowed from his eyes as he hit his already injured arm on the side of the boat.

Utsugi began rifling around in the boat, until she pulled out a megaphone. “It’s like the one big sis Komaru has!” She grinned as she turned towards the Monokumas and yelled “BREAK!”

A beam of blue light struck one of the Monokumas, and it exploded, setting off a chain reaction as the boat sped away.

“So Monaca hates us now…”  Kemuri slumped down in his seat. “She hates us, adults hate us, the Monokumas hate us… who doesn’t hate us?”

“Hopefully, the people who live on the island.” Shingetsu pulled out the manilla folder that had been on his seat and began rifling through it. “They were people big s- Enoshima hurt too. People who she had to bad things. They’re just like us.”

“But they’re adults.” Utsugi pointed out.

“Not all adults are bad.” Shingetsu said, not fully believing the statement himself.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 6


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Warriors of Hope arrive on Jabberwock island!

**Chapter 3**

**Jabberwock Island**

Over the next two weeks, the others quickly began to wake up. So far, Teruteru Hanamura, Hiyoko Saionji, and Mahiru Koizumi had woken up. The group had an efficient schedule working, keeping people occupied for a good portion of time each day, and still leaving plenty of time to relax and socialise. They also received their first shipment from the Future Foundation, and Hinata had personally talked to Makoto Naegi.

“They put you on trial?!” Hinata had been outraged to hear of Naegi’s treatment at the hands of the other Future Foundation members.

“I got of lightly…” Naegi shrugged. “At least, as long as the program works, and you guys end up ‘cured’, I won’t get in any more trouble… you could call it a probation of sorts. And, speaking of, you guys will be getting a visit with one of the shipments eventually. Yukizome wanted to deliver it herself.”

“Yukizome?” Hinata blinked. “As in, their old teacher? Wonder how that’ll go down…”

“I’m sure it’ll go down fine.” Naegi shrugged again. “Anyway, besides you five who made it out of the simulation, who else has gotten up?”

“Tanaka, Hanumara, and Saionji have all adjusted fairly well. Koizumi’s up too, but she’s not… completely OK.”

Naegi looked worried. “She’s not still-”

“Not as far as I can tell. She’s just not in the best headspace… she only woke up this morning.”

“Thank god.” Naegi breathed. “Look, you don’t mind me talking with you every couple of weeks, do you? Since you seem to be the leader the group has chosen, and I need to perform these checkups to make sure everything’s running smoothly.”

“That’s fine.” Hinata nodded.

“Think of it however you like, if you’d prefer it to be two friends catching up I’ll keep it casual, otherwise it can be more like a therapist checking up with a client.” Naegi said.

Hinata was silent for a moment, and opened his mouth to speak, before Saionji rushed in, throwing an orange at his head. “Hinata! There’s a bunch of kids who just arrived!”

“What?” Hinata turned to Naegi. “Did you-”

“I don’t know anything about this.” Naegi gulped.

“Right, I need to handle this. We can talk in a couple of weeks.” Hinata closed the laptop lid and followed Saionji to the docks.

There he saw Tanaka and Kuzuryu guarding four children, each looking no older than twelve.

The one with blue hair walked up to Hinata. “My name is Nagisa Shingetsu. I was told by Komaru Naegi that you would offer sanctuary to us.”

“Uh… OK… I don’t know why she’d say that… or who that is for that matter…” Hinata blinked.

“You had no idea we were coming?” Shingetsu asked.

“No, we didn’t…” Hinata muttered. “This is weird. Really weird. But… I guess you’re welcome here. We’ll sort everything out soon… for now just try to settle in.”

“Thank you.” Shingetsu breathed a sigh of relief.

He and the rest of the children walked off.

“Hajime, there’s a small problem.” Kuzuryu said. “We’re currently using nine of the cottages. With these kids, it’ll be thirteen. That leaves us with two cottages, and there are still six people who need to wake up.”

“We can discuss that later…” Hinata muttered. “Worst comes to worse, some of us sleep in the motel. We did it in the sim.”

“The sim had bridges.” Kuzuryu retorted.

“And we have boats. We’ll live, Fuyuhiko.”

“If I may.” Tanaka said. “I could discuss with Sonia about one of us possibly vacating our cottage.”

“You don’t need to ask me permission, Gundam. Just… be sure you check the pharmacy before you two get too serious. We don’t need babies around.”

Kuzuryu stifled a laugh as Tanaka went red, and pulled his scarf up over his face.. “I… I will take my leave now…” He muttered, walking off.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So do I need to put a tag or content warning for implied sex on here? I won't be writing any sex scenes, but due to the fact that the Remnants are young adults unsupervised on an island...
> 
> EDIT: Yup, went ahead and put 'implied sexual content' in there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shingetsu and the other Warriors of Hope begin to get settled on the island.

**Chapter 4**

**Jabberwock Island**

Shingetsu glanced around the cottage. It was bare, with essentially no furnishings other than a bed, and a shelf for which to put items on. Not that Shingetsu had anything to put on it…

His initial impressions of the former Remnants of Despair were… mixed. He’d only met three of them, but those three were ones he had formed base opinions on.

The one with the scarf was… odd. Shingetsu wasn’t quite sure what to think of him, but if his ‘evil overlord’ persona was a permanent thing, he believed that would get annoying fast.

The one with the eyepatch didn’t seem friendly. At all. He seemed tolerant, but not friendly.

Then there was the one who the girl in the kimono (Shingetsu hadn’t been around her long enough to get a good impression of her) who had gone to get Hinata, who he assumed was the leader of the group.

Hinata seemed both troubled and stressed, from what Shingetsu could gather. Being a leader did that to you…

Shingetsu lay down on the bed, smiling to himself. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept on, but it was certainly better than sleeping under newspapers, huddling with the others for warmth.

There was a knock on the door, and Shingetsu got up, walking over and opening it. Hinata stood in the doorway.

“Hi. Sorry I couldn’t give a proper introduction earlier, but things were chaotic. I’m Hajime Hinata.” Hinata extended his hand, and Shingetsu shook it. “Like I said before, you’re welcome here. But I would like you and your friends to meet me on the main island in an hour or so that way we can sort out your schedules and go over the rules.”

“I’ll go get everyone.” Shingetsu nodded.

“Cool.” Hinata began to walk off, but took a look around the room first. “You’ve got good taste in rooms.” He smiled. “This one used to be mine.”

“Used to?”

“I moved.” Hinata walked off.

Shingetsu began wandering around the cottage area, trying to figure out where his friends were staying. He was surprised when he got tackled from behind.

“NAGISA THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!” Daimon yelled.

“The people here are actually nice to me…” Kemuri shook his head. “Big sis Sonia called me adorable…”

“They have big guns that can blow Monaca out of the water if she gets too close!” Utsugi grinned. “Though… I don’t want them to kill Monaca… I hope she doesn’t come.”

“Let’s just not talk about her unless we have to.” Shingetsu stood up, brushing off his clothes. “Hinata wants to talk to us on the main island in an hour. We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

“Well let’s go then! Race you!” Utsugi ran towards the docks.

“Hey!” Daimon sprinted off behind her.

Kemuri attempted to run after them but fell flat on his face. “Oof!”

Shingetsu helped him up. “Let those two race. We’re in no hurry.”

“I think I’m gonna like it here…” Kemuri said, as he and Nagisa walked towards the boat.

“Me too, Jataro. Me too.”

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Attention goes away from Jabberwock Island for a brief moment.

**Chapter 5**

**Towa City**

“I’m afraid the attack failed.” the voice on the other end of Towa’s phone said. “The Warriors of Hope made it to the island.”

“That’s fine.” Towa said. “The Remnants of Despair are there too, right? That just means we can take out… nineteen birds with one stone. Even better if some Future Foundation members arrive. I’ll send a bunch of Monokumas that way as soon as I can.”

“Not yet. Wait until I give you the word.”

“Got it.” Towa nodded.

“You better not mess this up again.” The person warned.

“Last time, I let Fukawa and Naegi get the better of me. This time, they’re far too distracted to be focused on me. This’ll all go smoothly…”

“That remains to be seen.” The voice hung up.

“Fucker…” Towa muttered. “You’ll see soon enough.”

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 13


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikan and Ibuki wake up, but something is not right with them.

**Chapter 6**

**Jabberwock Island**

“So some people are still asleep?” Shingetsu asked. “And you have no clue when… or if... they’ll wake up?”

Hinata nodded. “That’s right. We’ve got a schedule going for who watches them each day, and at what times. We need to be there in case one of the others wakes up.”

“What happens when people wake up?” Utsugi enquired.

“It’s… not pretty.” Hinata sighed. “Just hope you aren’t on guard when someone w-”

The siren sounded, and Hinata stood. “Please. Stay here. I’ll handle this…” He ran into the pod room, only to see a chaotic scene inside.

The pod that had held Mikan Tsumiki was open, and Tsumiki herself was out of the pod. Hanumara had been on guard, but he was against the wall, blood running down the side of his head. He groaned, alerting Hinata to the fact that he was alive.

Tsumiki giggled, but it wasn’t a sweet giggle. It was a giggle full of malice.

 _“Interesting… the simulation didn’t have the same effects on her as it did the rest of you…”_ Kamukura mused.

“Not now.” Hajime muttered through gritted teeth.

Tsumiki turned, noticing him. She laughed, and lunged, tackling Hajime to the floor. She lay on top of him, pinning him to the floor.

“Get… off…” Hinata tried to shove her off, but Tsumiki was strong.

“What’s the matter?” She laughed. “Here I thought you’d like this… it’s not boring is it? But I guess you don’t enjoy it as much as Kamukura did…”

 _“She’s really trying to insinuate that? Pathetic.”_ Kamukura scoffed.

Tsumiki raked her hand down Hajime’s face, leaving a large gash along his cheek.

 _“You’ll want to hit her where it hurts.”_ Kamukura urged. _“Cause enough pain and she’ll get off eventually.”_

 _I can handle it._ Hinata attempted to shove Tsumiki again, however his arm movement was limited, and he ended up with a hand on her breast.

“Oh, so you do want it…” Tsumiki laughed.

 _I’m going to get so much shit for this._ Hinata thought, as he squeezed tight, causing Tsumiki to recoil in pain.

As he got up, he noticed Shingetsu standing in the doorway, watching the scene in shock. “Go get Akane! Or Gundam! Or anyone!” He yelled.

Shingetsu began to run off, but then he noticed something by the door. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and threw it in Hinata’s direction.

Hinata caught it, and sprayed a stream of the chemicals in Tsumiki’s face.

“Mikan… I don’t want to hurt you…” He said, trying to stay calm.

“But I want to hurt you! You betrayed her! You’ve all betrayed her! She loved us and you betrayed her!” Tsumiki lunged again, but this time Hinata was ready. He slammed the fire extinguisher into her stomach, and she fell back on the floor, retching.

“Enoshima? Love? NEVER mention those two words together! Enoshima doesn’t love anything or anyone!” Hinata yelled, fury overtaking him. “Enoshima brainwashed us! She used us as tools, and had us murder the people we loved! She had us do things that none of us wanted to do, and made us enjoy them! ENOSHIMA! DID! NOT! LOVE! US!” He slammed the fire extinguisher into the side of Tsumiki’s head, and she collapsed to the ground.

He turned to Hanumara, who had stirred during the fight and was staring at Hinata in shock.

“If Tsumiki’s still alive, tie her up and dump her in the lodge.” Hinata said. “Otherwise, we’ll go bury her in a bit. This isn’t her fault…”

There was knocking from inside another pod, and Hinata turned, seeing Ibuki Mioda’s pod was cracked open.

“She woke up just before Mikan.” Hanumara explained.

Hinata opened Mioda’s pod, and she jumped out.

“Ibuki thanks you, Hajime!” She said. “But… where is Ibuki?”

“You’re on the island. You’ve left the program.”

“The program? Ibuki doesn’t know anything about a program…” Mioda scratched her head. “The last thing Ibuki remembers is Fuyuhiko cutting open his own stomach… IS FUYUHIKO OK? Wait… WHY IS TERUTERU ALIVE? WHO IS THE ADORABLE BLUE HAIRED CHILD? IBUKI IS VERY CONFUSED!”

“Adorable?” Shingetsu fumed. “I am not adorable…”

“We’ve got a lot to explain…” Hinata sighed.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I think that "Enoshima did not love us!" bit was one of the best lines I've written. At least, I hope it is. (snicker snicker)
> 
> Also, Nagisa, everyone disagrees. EVERYONE.


	7. Chapter 7 (The New Version)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime explains the situation to Ibuki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added this chapter in due to some critique from ThatShadowGuy. Thank you for that, by the way.

**Chapter 7**

**Jabberwock Island**

“Ibuki, please, sit down.” Hinata said, motioning at an empty seat.

“Is Hajime going to explain everything?” She asked, obliging.

“Yeah. And it’s going to take a while…” Hinata began going through everything, starting with how the class knew each other at Hope’s Peak and how Mioda had lost two years worth of memories due to the simulation. Then he moved on to the more… painful subject of what happened in the simulation after Mioda’s ‘death’.

Mioda’s face fell when she heard about Tsumiki’s betrayal. “Ibuki liked Mikan…” She sighed sadly.  
Then Hinata told her about the strawberry and grape houses, and about Nekomaru and Gundam’s ‘duel’ to get them out.

Mioda listened, not interrupting Hinata’s explanation.

Hinata struggled to talk about Komaeda’s gambit, and how the lucky bastard had tricked Nanami into killing him… he actually felt as if he was going to cry at that. Swallowing his emotions, he continued, explaining about Enoshima’s AI being behind Monokuma, and how she revealed the awful truth to them-they had been her underlings, the Remnants of Despair, whom she had brainwashed into causing terrible acts all over the world, and how Makoto Naegi had gone against his orders from the Future Foundation and saved them. He then explained about how they were living on Jabberwock Island with the Future Foundation’s support, provided they remained ‘cured’ of despair.

Mioda listened throughout all of this, and then she asked “Hold on… you said that Enoshima brainwashed us… how?”

“N-N…” Hinata started, trying to prevent tears from coming. “Nanami… Enoshima murdered her… made everyone watch…”

“That bitch.” Mioda muttered. “Is she dead?”

Hinata nodded.

“Wait… Nanami was in the program but she was also dead before it?”

“The Nanami we knew in the simulation was an artificial intelligence… Enoshima killed the real Nanami.”

“Ibuki’s confused again…”

“It’s a hard thing to wrap your head around, I know…” Hinata sighed. “It’s weird… everyone else besides you and Mikan have woken up remembering everything… I’ll see if I can figure out why. In the meantime though, you should go talk to everyone, I’m sure they’d all love to see you. Your cottage should be free… unless one of the kids is using it, in which case we can figure something out.”  
“Speaking of those kids… who are they?” Mioda asked.

“It’s-”

“A long story. Right.” Mioda nodded. “Well, Ibuki’s off to go talk to everyone… and introduce herself to the adorable munchkins!” She hopped up and walked off cheerfully.

Hinata walked to the laptop, and composed an email to Naegi asking if it was possible to talk to the people who created the program about after effects. Not long after, he got a call request from the Future Foundation member, which he accepted.

“So you say Tsumiki’s still in despair, and Mioda didn’t remember anything other than the simulation?” Naegi said. “Hmm… from the sounds of things, what happened to Mioda was the graduation effect. Which is really strange, since you guys initiated the shutdown sequence… I think it’s time to accept that whatever happened inside the program, it didn’t work as we thought it would. As for Tsumiki… she died in the simulation in despair, right? And she got brainwashed twice… I’ll talk to Gekkogahara, see if there’s a way to reboot the simulation or get some other sort of therapy for her.”

“Thank you. One other thing… do you think it’s possible to send more food along with the next shipment? Since it probably won’t be long until we have nineteen people awake here.”

“I can try. No promises though.” Naegi said. “Food distribution is a major issue right now… some of the remaining remnants attacked a bunch of our farms. But I’ll use whatever pull I have to try to send some more.”

“Thank you so much.” Hinata closed the laptop after hanging up the call.

 _“Do you really believe there’s another way to cure her?”_ Kamukura scoffed inside his head. _“The Neo World Program was the one shot you had to fix things, and, for Tsumiki, it failed.”_

“And whose fault is that?” Hinata said aloud.

Kamukura was silent.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 15


	8. Chapter 8 (The former chapter 7 revised)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing bad at all happens in this chapter, it's just snarky humor and happiness and romance! Really. Nobody's going to die in this chapter. I promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've revised this chapter after getting some critique. Thank you to ThatShadowGuy for providing me with constructive criticism, and while I'm sure this is far from perfect, hopefully it is at least better than before.

**Chapter 8**

**Jabberwock Island**

Over the next two weeks, things calmed down. Tsumiki was still tied up, for everyone’s safety, and ‘Byakuya Togami’ had woken up, leaving Pekoyama, Nidai, and Komaeda the only three not awake.

The kids were getting along well with the others. Shingetsu had taken interest in what Hinata did to run the island, and it was nice to have someone else to relieve some of the stress of leading, even if Shingetsu hadn’t even gone through puberty yet. Hinata was making sure not to pile too much work on the kid.

Daimon got along quite well with Akane, constantly competing with her. Hinata hoped that once Nidai woke up, Daimon would look up to him as well.

Utsugi and Sonia seemed to be developing quite the friendship as well, and more than once Hinata had heard them discussing things that were ‘adorbs’.

Kemuri seemed to be constantly giving Souda advice on how to design his inventions, which mostly consisted of “More blood! More guts!” Souda was… less than enthusiastic about his suggestions.

Hinata had decided that morning meetings were compulsory for everyone to attend, and on this morning, Koizumi and Saionji were late. Very late.

“Right, I’m gonna go find them.” Hinata stood. “I’ll hopefully be back in a bit…”

He walked over to Mahiru’s cottage, and paused outside the door.

 _“You should go. It’ll save you some embarrassment.”_ Kamakura coughed.

“Shut up, you’re just a figment of my imagination.” Hajime muttered, turning the doorknob. He opened the door, only to shut it mere second later, going red with embarrassment. “Sorry! Sorry!” He yelled.

“Pervert!” Both Koizumi and Saionji yelled after him. They both came out a few minutes later, red with embarrassment and clothes obviously put on in a rush.

“I will say nothing.” Hinata coughed.

“Good.” Both girls glared.

“Please do come on time to the meetings though… there’s a reason I arranged them.”

The group walked to the hotel, where everyone sat down and began to eat the food Hanumara had cooked for breakfast.

As Hinata examined everyone, he noticed various things happening around the table. Owari and Daimon were having an arm wrestle, which Daimon seemed to be winning (Hinata suspected she was letting him win), Mioda was clearly stealing food off of Togami’s plate, while he pretended not to notice, and Shingetsu and Kuzuryu seemed to be deep in conversation.

“Ah, Hinata!” Hanumara walked over, placing a large plate of food in front of Hinata. “The new shipment of food came in last night, so I was able to combine what we had leftover from last time into this!” He indicated the large place of rice and meat. “It’s nice to be able to cook gourmet meals, instead of just basic things… speaking of, the latest shipment was larger than the ones before. Not by too much, but I’d guess it can last all sixteen of us for three weeks, and if Nidai, Pekoyama and Komaeda wake up, a good two and a half weeks, minimum. Well, provided Owari doesn’t eat everything…”

“Hey!” Owari yelled.

“One, two, three, Masaru wins!” Kotoko announced, as the red haired boy pinned Owari’s arm to the table.

Mioda finished eating, and walked into the kitchen, coming out with the plate Hanumara had made for Tsumiki. Togami stood up, and the two walked off together in the direction of the old lodge.

Just as Hinata finished eating, the siren rang, alerting the group to the fact that someone else had woken up. He, Owari, and Kuzuryu stood, rushing to the docks as the others continued eating, obviously far more excited now though.  
“Who’s watching them?” Hinata asked.

“Gundam.” Owari responded. “I know Sonia was planning to spend her time over there with him once she’d finished, but she’s still eating.  
The trio got into a boat, and sped across the water, arriving at the building where the pods were housed in five minutes. The group entered the building, and were met with Pekoyama out of her pod, calmly standing next to Tanaka.

“Peko…” Kuzuryu ran at her, and the two embraced.

“Young master…” Tears were streaming down Peko’s face.

“Fuyuhiko. Not young master.”

“Yes you- Fuyuhiko.” Pekoyama laughed, letting Kuzuryu go.  
The two spent a few seconds looking into each other’s eyes until Owari snarked “Just kiss already.”

Kuzuryu and Pekoyama parted, each going red.

“So now it’s only Nidai and Komaeda…” Hinata muttered.

“If Komaeda doesn’t wake up, I would be perfectly fine with that.” Kuzuryu scoffed.

“I think we all would.” Hinata nodded. “Let’s head back to the main island, sort ourselves out there.”

The rest of the group followed him to the boat, minus Tanaka who remained to see if Nidai or Komaeda would get up. As Pekoyama, Kuzuryu and Owari went to the resteraunt to see everyone else, Hinata went towards the lodge to check on Mioda, Togami, and Tsumiki. As he approached the door, an uneasy feeling welled up inside his chest. Nobody was outside… well, they could have just gone in together, right? That had to be it…

He turned the door uneasily, and opened it to a dark hallway. He didn’t want to walk down it… something told him he wouldn’t like what he saw. However, as he rounded the corner, and entered the main room...

(Music Prompt: [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuGHonrmJmA ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuGHonrmJmA))

Ibuki Mioda lay on the floor, blood running out from where her neck used to be. It had been torn out, by teeth from the looks of things. Hinata’s gaze turned to the still tied up Tsumiki, and as he heard her choked, crazy laughter, and the Imposter’s large, meaty hands around her neck.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Death, Destruction, and Despair have only begun.


	9. Chapter 8.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The death of Ibuki Mioda- A short chapter centering around the circumstances behind her death.

**Chapter 8.5**

_(The Death of Ibuki Mioda)_

“You sure you’ll be OK in there?” Togami asked.

Mioda smiled at him. “Ibuki will be fine! All she has to do is give Tsumiki the plate, then leave.” She hesitated for a moment, before leaning over to give the Imposter a peck on the cheek, and smiling at him.

Leaving the blushing Togami outside, Mioda opened the lodge door, being careful not to let the plate of toast drop. Tsumiki was tied up in the main room, the space where- and here Mioda cringed at the memory- Togami had died in the simulation. She didn’t like it in here, but she was determined to pull her weight around the island, and if that meant delivering food to Tsumiki in a creepy lodge, so be it.

As she arrived in the room where Tsumiki lay, she heard… was that sobbing? Walking closer, she saw Tsumiki curled up into a ball, definitely sobbing.

“Mikan? Are… are you OK?” Mioda asked, wary, but also concerned.

“I’m sorry…” Tsumiki cried. “I’ve been awful… we did awful things…”

Mioda set the plate down, and walked a bit closer to Tsumiki. Perhaps… perhaps the brainwashing just took longer to wear off on Tsumiki? That must have been it…

“We were awful… because of her… why did we have to meet her in the first place?” Tsumiki wailed. “She made me love her… I DON’T! I HATE HER!”

Mioda got closer. “Everyone hates her! Junko Enoshima was awful, but she’s dead now. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Tsumiki sniffed. “I called her my beloved…” She seemed sick at the thought. “I helped her kill Nanami… I killed you… I’m horrible!”

At that moment, Mioda decided to make the worst… and last... mistake of her life. She walked over and hugged Tsumiki. “It’ll be OK. We all feel the same way. But together, we’ll overcome this!”

Unseen to Mioda, Tsumiki’s face changed from a look of anguish to a grin of triumph. “I’m sorry…” she muttered.

Deep inside, Tsumiki was screaming, begging herself to stop. However, she was powerless to stop her physical body from leaning back, looking Mioda in the eye, and whispering “For despair.” before lunging forward, and digging her teeth into her former friend’s neck.

Mioda shoved her back, but Tsumiki held tight, and the flesh around Mioda’s neck tore.

As Ibuki Mioda’s consciousness and life faded, she looked up at Tsumiki, and her last look was a look of pain, confusion, but ultimately, betrayal.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Side: Hope in the end notes.

**Chapter 9**

**Jabberwock Island**

Hinata rushed over to Togami, and struggled to pull him off of Tsumiki.

“I’LL KILL HER!” The Imposter yelled. “I’LL FUCKING KILL HER!”

“Not right now!” Hinata wasn’t weak, but he was far from strong enough to pull the much larger man away.

 _“Strike his neck. It’s a weak point.”_ Izuru urged.

Hinata, without thinking, obeyed Kamakura, and Togami stumbled back, letting go of Tsumiki’s neck.

The crazed girl dropped to the floor, laughing and wheezing.

“Heh… hahahaha… she’d be so proud of me now…” Tsumiki laughed.

Overcome by rage, Hinata slammed his foot into the back of her head. “Shut the fuck up about Enoshima! She would not give two shits about what just happened!”

Tsumiki slumped down against the back of the wall.

Hinata’s eyes went wide, fearing he’d killed her. He wanted to check her pulse… but what if she was faking? He assumed she’d tricked Mioda somehow… after all, Ibuki was optimistic, not stupid.

 _“If she tries anything, you’ll see it coming.”_ Kamakura said.

“Since when are you helpful?”

_“If you die, I die. It’s as simple as that.”_

Hinata put his hand against Tsumiki’s neck. There was a definite pulse, and she was breathing. Simply unconscious then. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“What the hell happened here?” Kuzuryu walked in, followed by Shingetsu and Pekoyama.

“Nagisa, go get the others and tell them to go to the military base. You don’t need to see this.” Hinata said, trying to stay calm.

Shingetsu opened his mouth to argue, but Kuzuryu placed a hand on his shoulder. “Not now.”

Shingetsu walked off, obviously irritated.

“Jesus christ…” Kuzuruyu muttered, laying his jacket over Mioda's body. “Not again…”

“Come on.” Hinata stood, helping the Imposter up. “We’ve got a meeting to attend to.”

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm posting this after watching Side: Hope, which showed the 77th class awake and being amazing together. And I feel awful for what I've done... and what I'm about to do. As I've been saying since the start, things are only gonna get worse from here on out.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group makes their decision about what to do with Tsumiki.

**Chapter 10**

**Jabberwock Island**

Hinata slammed his fist against the table. “Everyone shut the fuck up!” He yelled. “We need to sort out what we’re going to do with Tsumiki.”

“It’s not her fault.” Koizumi pointed out. “The brainwashing just hasn’t worn off. Can we stick her back in the simulation?”

“You’d have to be the Ultimate Programmer to have even a remote chance of getting that thing up and running again.” Souda sighed.

“The way I see it, we have three options.” Hinata said. “We can let Tsumiki live, continue to have her be a drain on our food supplies and let her at god know how many more of us. We can send her to the Future Foundation, but there’s no guarantee they’ll even accept her or that they won’t kill her. Or… there’s this.” Hinata set a revolver on the table.

“What the fuck Hajime?!” Kuzuryu stood up, slamming his fist against the table. “You’re not suggesting we kill her?!”

“It’d be a mercy at this point.” Togami said.

“I suggest we vote.” Shingetsu spoke up. “Or… that you guys vote at least. Since... we didn’t know Tsumiki…”

“Good idea.” Hinata nodded. “And you get votes too. You live here, after all. We’re going around the table, starting with Togami, everyone voice your opinion on the matter.”

“Death.” Togami stated. “Tsumiki’s proven she’s too dangerous to keep here.”

“Sure that’s the only reason? And not the fact that you clearly wanted to-” Saionji began, but she was silenced by a slap from Koizumi.

“I believe we should continue caring for her.” Pekoyama said. “She’s one of us, whether she’s brainwashed or not. In case you’ve all forgotten, she was the first Enoshima got her hooks in to, and the fact that she was shown the animation twice, it stands to reason the brainwashing will be harder to undo.”

“I agree with Peko.” Kuzuryu nodded. “There’s gotta be a way we can help her, we just need to figure it out. We can… I dunno… muzzle her or something.”

“Kazuichi, didn’t you say the Neo World Program was fried?” Hanumara asked.

“As far as I can tell.” Souda nodded. “Which sucks balls.”

“Right… I really don’t think we have enough resources to keep Mikan on the island… but I don’t want to kill her either… I say we just hand her over to the Future Foundation! That way she’s not our problem anymore.”

“Not our problem?” Koizumi yelled at him. “Mikan’s one of us, she will always be our problem! There’s gotta be a way we can help her, she stays here!”

Saionji was next, and she was looking down, fiddling with her hair. “I… I dunno… let’s just send her off and be done with all this. I… I don’t want Mikan to kill me again.”

“I hate to say this,” Tanaka now. “But I cannot see any other way for us to deal with Tsumiki than to give her a quick, painless death. Nothing like the sadistic executions that were in the simulation.”

“I say we send her to the Future Foundation.” Sonia sighed. “Wash our hands of her and take no responsibility anymore.”

“Miss Sonia, we have to take responsibility for her!” Souda yelled. “She’s one of us, whether we like it or not!”

“Ibuki was one of us too.” Akane muttered darkly. “I vote death.”

“I’m with Big Sis Akane.” Daimon said.

“I think we should just send her off to the Future Foundation. They cured you guys, so they can cure her, right?” Ustugi.

“Yeah… I agree…” Kemuri said in his usual, slow pace.

“Most of the time, people who do something bad after meeting B- Enoshima aren’t at fault for it. We shouldn’t blame Tsumiki for what she’s done, it isn’t her fault.” Shingetsu said. “I vote life.”

Hinata sighed. “That’s five for life, five for exile, and four for death… I hate to make this a tie, but logically, death is the kindest option we have. If the Neo World program couldn't cure her, I don’t think anything can. Not to mention our food supplies are for fifteen people, not nineteen.”

“So we have a three way tie. Great, just fucking great. You say you’re our leader, Hajime, but you’re being incredibly selfish here.” Kuzuryu said. “If anyone wants to change their vote, do it now. We all know Mikan doesn’t deserve to die.”

A chuckle cut through the argument, a chuckle that was familiar to everyone in the room.  Everyone turned towards the doorway to see a slender man with white hair and insane grey eyes standing there, his hands at his side.

“How lucky I am… to appear at just the moment a tie breaking vote is needed. I vote the death penalty for Mikan Tsumiki, and am perfectly willing to carry out the execution myself. I don’t want any of you amazing, talented people getting your hands any more dirty than necessary, after all.” He raised his gloved hand to his face, looking at it.

“No. I will.” Hinata said. “I’m the leader, it’s my job to… take care of things like this. Plus, I want you where either Peko or Akane can see exactly what you’re up to at all times, Komaeda. I don’t trust you further than I can throw you.”

“Well, considering my weight…” Komaeda began, but stopped after everyone in the room shot him withering glares. “All right then. I’ll shut up and sit down. Fitting of trash like-”

Daimon pulled Komaeda’s seat out from underneath him, and the white haired manaic collapsed onto the floor.

“I’m fine here.” He shrugged. “It’s nice to see you children again, by the way, but I’m afraid I won’t be making you any more-”

“Komaeda. Shut. Up.” Hinata glared. “If he talks again, everyone has permission to knock him out.”

Daimon cracked his knuckles.

Komaeda held up his hands in surrender, as Hinata stood up.

“Hajime, don’t do this.” Kuzuryu blocked his way. “We’ll find a way. We don’t need to kill Mikan.”

Hinata attempted to shove his way past the Yakuza, but Kuzuryu stood his ground.

“Do you think this is what Nanami would have wanted?”

Hinata stood, fists clenched. “Fuyuhiko. Please get out of my way before I punch you.”

“Sit back down, and we’ll sort this out in a way that doesn’t end in-” Kuzuryu began to plead, but a fist struck him across the face, knocking him against the table.

Pekoyama stood up, her hand reaching towards her back, only to realize she didn’t have her sword.

“I warned him.” Hinata announced, before walking off.

The only thing anyone did for the next fifteen minutes was Pekoyama helping Kuzuryu up, and back into a chair. Then, there was a gunshot. Moments later, Hinata returned, looking shaken. His clothes were still clean, no sign of blood on them.

“It’s done.” He announced. “A quick shot to the head. I… don’t think she felt anything.”

“Hajime.” Kuzuryu glared. “Since when did you take logic into account when life and death are the options? If I remember right, that’s Kamakura’s thing.”

Hinata didn’t respond, he just looked down at the floor in shame as he left the room.

A few moments of uncomfortable silence followed, before Komaeda spoke up. “I believe you may have broken our fearless leader, Kuz-”

Daimon slammed Komaeda’s head onto the table, knocking the luckster out.

“What? Hajime gave me permission…”

“We should all go.” Shingetsu sighed. “We need to hold funerals for both of them.”

Nobody argued.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16


	12. Chapter 10.5: Mikan Tsumiki's Execution

**Chapter 10.5**

**Jabberwock Island**

Hinata walked with Tsumiki to the edge of the docks, a revolver in his hands. He had ensured her hands were bound, and there was a gag in her mouth. He really, really didn’t want to do this… but as the leader of the community, he had to perform the harsh actions… make the hard decisions... right?

They stopped at the edge of the dock, Hinata removing Tsumiki’s gag.

“If you’ve got any last words…” He said unemotionally, suppressing the guilt and self loathing.

“You’re an idiot.” Tsumiki giggled. “You think that killing me will solve all the problems on your island. But it won’t. What are you going to tell the future foundation members when they arrive? They thought we were all cured… but there is no way to come back. Junko had plans, and we weren’t the only members of Ultimate Despair. This community you’re building… it’s going to come crashing down. I don’t know how, I don’t know who will cause it… but I do know that soon, it’ll all be in ruins.”

Hinata raised the revolver, shoved her forward, and fired.

As Tsumiki fell into the water, Hajime dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He hated himself for doing this. He hated himself for killing someone he’d once considered a friend. Most of all, he hated himself for making sure there wasn’t another way first.

“Go on. Tell me what I did was right. Or tell me what a fuck up I am. I know you’re gonna try, Kamakura.” He muttered. “Tell me how you’ll make everything right if I give you control.”

The Ultimate Hope remained silent.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16


	13. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A funeral.

**Chapter 11**

**Jabberwock Island**

The day after the ‘trial’, the group assembled outside the Titty Typhoon for Ibuki’s funeral at seven PM. Most of the community had taken shifts to dig the grave behind the music venue, and Togami had gotten practically no sleep, working through most of last night and most of the day to dig the hole and bring Ibuki’s pod there. The effects were showing, as his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked about ready to pass out.

“I liked her music.” Kemuri sighed as he and the other kids walked to the venue.

“Big sis Ibuki was cool.” Utsugi agreed.

Everyone gathered around the grave solemnly, and Shingetsu looked around, performing a quick head count. The only person missing was Hinata…

There were a few moments of awkward silence, before Koizumi spoke up “So… who’s going to start?”

“I will.” Togami spoke up. “Ibuki was probably the best of us all. She was kind, cheerful, and her musical style was… interesting.” Everyone laughed a little at this. “I… I loved her, and I will miss her more than anything else…” He didn’t say anything more.

“I, for one, liked her music.” Saionji now. “Yeah, it was weird, but it was cool. And it was very her.”

“She was funny, too.” Koizumi said. “Made us all laugh when we needed it…”

“The type of person you couldn’t hate.” Hanumara agreed.

“I didn’t know her for long, but I liked Big Sis Ibuki.” Kemuri said. “I’m sad she’s gone…”

“We all are.” Utsugi agreed.

“She was crazy, but in a great way.” Kuzuryu said. “Out of all of us who were in the sim… she probably deserved to die the least.”

“She certainly didn’t deserve to die twice.” Pekoyama agreed.

“Ibuki Mioda was an amazing person, and she will be severely missed.” Komaeda said. “Rest in peace, Ibuki.” He picked up the guitar that had been inside the building and laid it inside the pod, before closing it and helping Togami, Tanaka, and Souda to lower it down into the earth.

Hanumara led everyone inside the building, where a feast was laid out.

There were various rice dishes, from sushi to curries, and drinks included such things as a few pitchers of water, various juices, and a couple bottles of wine.

“I’d planned on using them for cooking… but figured we could use them right now.” He explained.

“Damn right we could.” Kuzuryu walked over and poured himself a glass. “Time to get drunk off our asses and temporarily forget about all the shit going on.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Saionji agreed.

Daimon stiffened upon seeing the alcohol, but Kotoko took his hand in hers. “Don’t worry. They’re not your dad.” She whispered.

“Yeah, but…”

Komaeda noticed the pair, and walked over. He knelt in front of Masaru and looked him in the eye. “If any of the drinking makes you uncomfortable, nobody will blame you for leaving.”

Masaru blinked in confusion. “Are you the same guy who made us milkshakes with pine cones and pig fat?”

“That’s debatable.” Komaeda laughed.

Shingetsu left the group talking, slipping outside. He walked to the docks, and took a boat to the first island, walking to Hinata’s cottage. He knocked twice, and after he received no answer, simply opened the door. He found the leader of their community asleep, slumped down at his desk, head on his computer’s keyboard.

“Hajime?” Shingetsu gently shook him.

Hinata stirred, gradually sitting up. “Nagisa? What- what time is it?”

Shingetsu checked the clock on the open laptop. “Eight PM. You missed the funeral. Well, the ceremony part at least.”

Hinata’s eyes opened wide. “What?! SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!” He slammed his fist down on his desk. “Fuck… I should’ve been there… I had a speech prepared and everything! FUCK!”

“It’s not too late…” Shingetsu said.

“No, it is.” Hinata groaned. “Everyone was probably expecting me to show and I didn’t… god, I feel like a failure…”

“Look, one fuck up doesn’t mean you’re automatically a failure.” Shingetsu said. “You had no idea Tsumiki would do what she did.”

“I should’ve been the one to deliver the food…” Hinata muttered. “I shouldn’t have let Ibuki do it… I shouldn't have let anyone but myself do it.”

“Would you quit with the stupid self loathing crap already?” Shingetsu scowled. “It’s not your fault! Enoshima is the one to blame, like she almost always is.”

“I know.” Hinata muttered. “God, I know that. I still feel like it’s my fault though…”

“I get that. But you need to understand that those feelings are wrong. It’s not your fault.” Shingetsu reassured him. “And if she was here, Ibuki would tell you the same thing.”

“Yeah…” Hinata stood up. “I need to go. Even if it’s practically over, I need to go there anyway.”

The pair made their way to the Titty Typhoon, just in time to see Pekoyama stand.

“Excuse me, everyone, I have an announcement… no… an apology that I need to make.”

She walked over to Mahiru, and bowed before her. “I apologise for my actions towards you in the simulation. They were unjustified and caused you immense harm. I beg for your forgiveness.”

Without hesitation, Koizumi knelt down to Peko’s level. “I forgive you. Just like I forgive Fuyuhiko for killing Sato.”

“I… I apologize too.” Hanamura said to Togami. “I… I mean I wasn’t trying to kill you, but I shouldn’t have been trying to kill anyone in the first place.”

“I have been intending to apologize to Nidai the moment he wakes.” Tanaka announced. "Although it was a duel to save lives, I do wish the circumstances had not come to what they did."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Komaeda spoke up. “And I suppose I must apologise to everyone for my actions…”

“Well, it’s not like that was half-assed or anything.” Hinata muttered.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Sorry I’m late. I overslept. Which is a stupid excuse, I know.” Hinata sighed. “I… I don’t think I made the right choice yesterday, now that I’ve had time to think about it. I made the wrong decision… and that’s going to haunt me forever. But there’s nothing I can do about it now… as for Ibuki… I’m sorry. I should have been more careful… made sure she was properly bound… but what’s done is done.” Hinata poured himself a glass of wine. “To Ibuki Mioda.”

The other adults raised their glasses, while the kids just stood there awkwardly.

“And to Mikan Tsumiki as well.” Komaeda raised his glass once they finished the first toast.

This toast was a more solemn one, but everyone still participated.

“One final toast… to no more death.” Togami this time.

Again, everyone toasted.

“No more death.” Hinata nodded. “Let’s keep that promise.”

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16


	14. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Attention once again turns away from Jabberwock Island.

**Chapter 12**

**Unknown Location**

“So, you’re saying you’ve got a spy on the island then?” The figure spoke into the phone.

“Yup!” Towa said from the other end of the line. “They’re reporting in everything to me. Their newest update stated that one of the girls on the island woke up still under her influence, and killed another. They had the funeral… and the adults are intoxicated. Now would be a good time to strike, but I’m not sending my army unless you send yours.”

“Don’t be an idiot. Their guards will be up after this. And by the time we get there, they may be hungover, but don’t forget what they did. They’re still strong.”

“Good point…” Towa mused on the other end. “Look, just give me the word, and I’ll send in the Monokumas.”

“Not yet.” The person hung up, setting the phone down on their desk. They hated having to use Towa… but it was necessary. Necessary to ensure that everything worked out like they wanted to... and when the time came, of course, and Towa was no longer helpful... well, no need for fancy executions. A bullet, blade, or well aimed fist would work well enough.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another really short chapter. I'm in a bit of an odd state with this fic... I'm in the process of writing the next 3 chapters... or more accurately, I've yet to finish the next chapter, but I've written the two that come after it. I need to actually inject some levity into this, considering those two chapters I've finished are rather gloomy...


	15. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two guests come to Jabberwock Island... but their visit is interrupted by a third, uninvited guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... levity... unless you count some dark humor as levity, I'd say my mission to insert some into this chapter failed.

**Chapter 13**

**Jabberwock Island**

_A month after the ‘execution’ of Mikan Tsumiki_

Chisa Yukizome exited the ship, taking in the wonderful sights of Jabberwock Island. She couldn’t wait to see her former students, now cured of despair.

“Miss Yukizome!” A slender, white haired boy walked up to her. “It’s good to see you again.” Komaeda extended his ungloved hand for a handshake, but found himself swept up in a hug.

“I’ve missed you all…” Yukizome laughed, letting Komaeda go. “Where’s everyone else at?”

“MISS YUKIZOME!” Hiyoko came barreling towards her former teacher, almost knocking her over.

“Oof! Hey Hiyoko…” Chisa smiled.

“You… you’re OK, right?” Hiyoko asked uncertainly. “They fixed the brainwashing… right?”

“Thanks to-” Chisa turned around, only to find that the person she’d brought with her was not where she expected him to be. “Hold on just a second…” She ran back into the ship, and after lots of crashing, and a couple screams, walked back out with a skinny figure thrown over her shoulder.

By this time, Utsugi, Sonia and Tanaka had arrived to see what was going on, along with Akane and Masaru.

Yukizome set Ryota Mitarai on the ground, and the Animator stood, dusting himself off. “Hi everyone…” He sighed.

“That’s no way to greet your former classmates…” Chisa glared at him.

Mitarai muttered various things under his breath, trying to slink back onto the ship.

Sonia whispered something to Kotoko, and the younger girl nodded, sprinting off.

“I don’t know why you forced me to come here…” Mitarai griped. “I’m not your student anymore… I’m practically your equal…”

“Oh, well sue me for thinking it would be nice to go and see your former classmates…” Yukizome sighed. “He was like this the entire trip…”

“I was not!” Mitarai went red.

“Oh don’t lie…” Chisa sighed.

“Mitarai?”

Togami stood next to Utsugi, who shoved him towards the Animator. The two friends looked each other in the eyes for what seemed like ages… before the two ran to each other and embraced.

“There we go.” Yukizome smiled. “Now, where is Hinata? From what Naegi’s told me, he’s the leader here.”

“I’m here.” Hinata announced. “Just had to round everyone else up.” Behind him stood everyone else who was not already there, minus Nidai, who had yet to wake up still.

Yukizome swept up all of her former students, Hinata, and the Warriors of Hope into a massive group hug. “I missed you all! And all of you children are adorable…”

“How does she have long enough arms to reach all around us?” Komaeda wondered, feeling crushed between Hinata and Togami.

“Don’t question it.” Hinata muttered.

Once Yukizome had let everyone go, she smiled down at them all. “Now, we need to go and trade stories, but…” She glanced up at the sky. “It looks like it’s about to rain…”

“Follow me.” Hinata said. “The restaurant has room for us all…”

“Plus food.” Owari butted in.

“Yes, food too…”

The group made their way to the restaurant, taking seats around the table.

Yukizome clapped her hands. “OK, I might as well start things off. After we were seperated, I infiltrated the Future Foundation. They found me out fairly quickly though… and, thankfully, Mitarai made an anime that undid what Enoshima’s did.”

“So… why did they need the Neo World Program for us if that’s all that it took?” Hinata blinked.

“Well… we tried it on this guy… his name was Ted something or another… it didn’t work.” Mitarai sighed.

“So it worked for you, but not for someone else? I’m sorry, that’s really confusing…”

“I’m not even sure Naegi knew about Mitarai’s anime. It was a fairly well kept secret.” Yukizome sighed. She glanced around, and for the first time, seemed to notice some people missing. “Have Ibuki, Mikan, and Nekomaru not woken up yet?”

The upbeat mood that the group had a moment ago vanished, replaced by a far more somber one.

“Nekomaru hasn’t…” Hinata muttered.

“Mikan woke up wrong.” Komaeda sighed. “We’re not sure how it went down exactly, but she killed Ibuki.”

“Oh god…” Yukizome looked down. “Oh my god…”

“And Mikan? What happened to her?” Mitarai looked at everyone.

Nobody responded, but the telltale gazes of almost everyone in the room drifted to Hinata.

“You… YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Mitarai leapt across the table and tackled him.

“Get off!” Hinata shoved the much skinnier boy away. “You think I wanted to do what I did?”

“Everyone, calm down!” Yukizome yelled.

Mitarai glared at Hinata hatefully, but didn’t say or do anything else as he took his seat.

 _“Well done Hinata.”_ Hinata figured that, if the Ultimate Hope was anything more than a voice in his head, Kamakura would be smirking.

“So… who are you four?” Yukizome turned her gaze to the former Warriors of Hope, attempting to shift the mood. “Wait… you’re the kids from Towa City! Four of you, at least. Where’s the other one… the little green haired girl?”

“We don’t associate ourselves with her anymore.” Shingetsu said coldly.

“Right…” Another awkward silence filled the room. “Well? Aren’t you going to introduce yourselves?”

The children shifted uncomfortably.

Komaeda walked over to them. “It’s all right. Miss Yukizome is a good person. You can trust her.”

Daimon nodded, stepping forwards. “I’m Masaru Daimon… I was the ‘Lil Ultimate P.E in Hope’s Peak Elementary.”

“Oh, you’re from the Elementary school!” Yukizome nodded.

“I’m Kotoko Ustugi, and I was the ‘Lil Ultimate Drama.” Kotoko bowed.

“I’m Jataro Kemuri… the ‘Lil Ultimate Art…” Jataro said.

“And, I’m Nagisa Shingetsu, the ‘Lil” Nagisa seemed to dislike pronouncing that word. “Ultimate Social Studies.”

“You are all incredibly adorable.” Yukizome said.

“We’ve killed lots of adults…” Shingetsu fumed.

“Doesn’t make you any less adorable.”

“Kotoko and Masaru are both good in a fight.” Owari said. “If they ganged up on me, they could probably kick my ass easy. Though I dunno if they could take on Old Man Nidai…”

“You spar with them?” Yukizome raised an eyebrow. “I hope you’re gentle on the poor kids.”

“Oh shit.” Komaeda muttered to himself, as he noticed Utsugi stiffen. “Miss Yukizome…”

“Hmm?” Yukizome turned to Utsugi, who seemed to be starting to shake. “What’s going-”

Utsugi burst into tears. “Not… gentle…”

“What’d I do?” Yukizome’s smile changed into a look of horror.

The other kids rushed over to their friend’s side

“What’d I do?” Yukizome was pale.

“I’d like an explanation as well…” Hinata nodded. “Komaeda, you seemed to know what was going on.”

“I do.” Komaeda nodded. “For Utsugi, the word ‘gentle’ is a trigger word.”

“A trigger… oh my god. I triggered some sort of traumatic memory for her, didn’t I?” Yukizome muttered. “Oh my god… why would gentle be her trigger word though?”

“Think about it.” Komaeda said coldly.

After a moment of thought, a sick realisation crept into Hinata’s mind. _Jesus christ… poor kid…_

 _“Despicable.”_ Kamakura agreed.

“Why wouldn’t they have said so?” Hinata wondered. “I mean, it’s pure luck that, in the two months or so that they’ve been here, none of us have accidentally said the word.”

Everyone puzzled over the issue, until Komaeda laughed slightly. “Oh please. It’s obvious, don’t you think? They don’t trust us.”

“Wha-” Hinata began.

“I wouldn’t either. They have every reason not to trust adults. All four of them were horribly abused… then Enoshima came along.”

“How do you know all of this?” Sonia asked.

“I was their servant, and therefore beneath their notice. Therefore, it was easy to eavesdrop on certain conversations… oh, and did I mention that the girl they were with? Monaca Towa? She was a real piece of work. Intentionally triggered their traumas to advance her plans.”

“Jesus christ…” Kuzuryu muttered.

The room was silent… until a slight buzzing sound cut through the silence.

“What the hell is that?” Owari wondered, glancing out the window. Her brow furrowed in confusion. A few seconds later, her eyes widened. “Holy sh-”

The rest of her sentence was cut off by an explosion.

“That came from the central island.” Hinata yelled, sprinting outside and to a boat.

The administration building was in ruins, and as more people arrived, they began to move rubble inside. As Souda found the one remaining pod that held a person, he was hesitant to move rubble off the top.

“Move!” Owari shoved him to the side, then pushed the rubble off. She didn’t even need to open the pod to see what had happened to the strongest member of their group.

A shard of glass from the pod’s broken top had embedded itself in his chest.

“No…” Owari’s eyes filled with tears. “DAMMIT! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!”

“There’s a plane up there!” Sonia pointed above, at the plane flying away from the island.

“THEN LET’S GO SHOOT IT DOWN!” Owari yelled, rushing to a boat. “The fifth island has guns and shit all over it!”

“It’ll be gone by the time we can get there.” Komaeda sighed. “But if it’ll make you feel better…” He picked up a bit of rubble and tossed it at the plane. Somehow, the rock hit, and the plane went spiralling down.

“You know what, I’m not even surprised.” Togami sighed.

Hinata stared at Nidai’s body, dropping to his knees. “I promised no more death.” He whispered. “I promised it…”

 _“An empty promise and you knew it.”_ Kamakura said.

Hinata stood. “I need to do something.” He announced, walking to the docks. Without listening to any of the responses, he sped to his cottage, slamming the door behind him. He lay down on his bed, and closed his eyes.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel really, really shitty for making Chisa, of all people, trigger Kotoko's trauma.
> 
> Also, notice something up with the Jabberwock Counter?


	16. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle inside the mind.

**Chapter 14**

**Inside the Mind of Hajime Hinata**

“Finally come to give me the reigns?” Kamukura said.

Hinata took in the surroundings his mind had created. It was a classroom… one of the ones created for the reserve course at Hope’s Peak High School. The room was in disarray… desks knocked over, scratches on the chalkboard… and all the windows were smashed open. A few had bloody shards of glass sticking out of the frames.

Hinata sat at the only intact desk in the room, and he fixed his gaze on Kamukura. “No. I’m here to take what I’m owed.”

“What you’re owed?” Kamukura raised an eyebrow. “And what is that?”

Hinata didn’t respond, he merely stood, and threw his chair at Kamukura.

The Ultimate Hope caught the chair, and set it down. “Don’t do that again.”

Hinata picked up the desk, a feat he would not likely be able to do in real life, and threw it at Kamukura, who dodged.

“You do realise this fighting is completely pointless, right? You can’t get rid of me this way.”

“Who said I wanted to get rid of you?” Hinata advanced, attempting to corner Kamukura.

“What?” A brief flash of surprise crossed the Ultimate Hope’s face, and Hinata used this to his advantage, striking Kamukura across the face and knocking him to the ground. He dug his nails into Kamukura’s skull, and the long haired man screamed in pain.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

“Getting what I deserve.” Hinata tore open Kamukura’s skull, and long, spiralling ribbons spilled out of it, filling up the classroom.

Hinata stood, examining these ribbons, and grabbed one of them.

“Really? Of all talents, that’s the one you choose?” Kamukura groaned.  
“I deserve some happiness.” Hinata muttered.

“I see.” Kamukura stood, and began shoving the ribbons back inside his head. “So you’re taking the Programmer talent in an attempt to recover the AI, instead of something that could actually help you save the friends who are still alive… that’s very mature of you Hinata. Especially considering four of those friends are twelve year old children with very, very deep psychological scars.” As the last ribbon was forced inside inside, Kamukura’s head sealed itself up.

“Fuck you.”

Kamukura clapped sarcastically. “Like I said. Very mature.”

“You want me to split your head open again?” Hinata threatened.

“Go on. Try it. I know that you can’t erase me… but what’s to say that I can’t erase you?”

“Hajime?” A distorted voice cut through. “Hajime, get up.”

“I’ll be waiting, Hinata.” Kamukura said. “You will give me control. Sooner or later.” He stood, not breaking eye contact with his other self as the reserve course classroom crumbled to dust around him.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

 

**TALENT COUNTER:**

IZURU KAMAKURA: 999999999999998

HAJIME HINATA: 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this chapter is a bit of a weird one. Most of the shit Hajime does is stuff he isn't able to do in reality. The talent counter's only a stupid thing I made that holds no relevance to the plot.


	17. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain someone attempts to get Hajime to confide in him... and it doesn't work out.

**Chapter 15**

**Jabberwock Island.**

“Hajime?”

Someone was shaking Hinata awake. Instinctively, he shoved whoever it was back.

There was a lot of crashing, and he sat up to see that the desk had snapped in half, and Komaeda was sitting in the rubble, dazed and holding the laptop. “Ha. Lucky me. I broke the desk, but saved the item essential for communication.”

“Of course you did.” Hinata sighed. “What do you want, Komaeda?”

“You’ve been out for an hour. I came to check on you.” Komaeda looked into Hinata’s eyes. “Since when did you start wearing only one contact?”

“What?”

“Your right eye. It’s red.”

“One of the contacts must have slipped out…” Hinata muttered. “Whatever, it’ll turn up.”

“Are you alright?” Komaeda asked, standing up.

“You just broke my desk.”

“That’s not an answer.” Komaeda gently set the laptop on the bed, before sitting beside Hinata. “If you’re troubled about all of the death, I understand.”

“I’m not about to confide in you, of all people.” Hinata spat. “After all you’ve done…”

“Oh, so you’ll forgive Hanamura, Pekoyama, and Tanaka, but not me?” Komaeda raised an eyebrow.

“That… that was different. They didn’t try to kill us all.”

“But in a way, they did. None of them instantly confessed to murder, did they? And in Hanamura and Pekoyama’s cases, they both wanted all of us to die so someone could get off the island. My aims were the same… except Nanami chose to sacrifice hers-” He found himself shoved against the wall.

“Don’t you DARE say her name!” Hinata yelled. “You don’t deserve to! It’s your fault she’s dead!”

“The artificial intelligence was doomed anyway.” Komaeda said calmly. “And as for Nanami herself… well, it depends how far back you want to trace the issue. I can see myself being at fault due to being unconscious, which likely wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t pulled that gun on Enoshima… but then again, Kamukura was likely the cause of the gun jamming, and since he was the one who knocked me unconscious, and you willingly accepted the Kamukura project, you’re at fault as-”

“SHUT UP!”

“You were a lot more fun when you weren’t an angst-ridden mess of emotions.” Komaeda noted.

Hinata let him go, continuing to glare.

“All that being said… I am sorry for my actions. I won’t say they weren’t justified, but I apologize for them.”

“Good. Now leave.”

“I don’t think I will. You clearly need someone to talk to.”

“And that someone isn’t you.”

Nagito sighed. “I understand you hate me. I understand nobody trusts me. And after what I’ve done, I can’t blame them. But I wouldn’t take back anything I did… just like I won’t ever want to take back this.” Komaeda leaned in and kissed Hinata.

Hinata shoved him away. “Get off!”

“Like I said, I won’t ever regret that. Glad I got to do it at least once.” Komaeda walked off, his head held high.

Hinata glared at him as he left, before picking up the laptop, and opening it. He sat down on his bed, and began going through the files that remained of the Neo World Program. "I can do this." He muttered. "I can... and I will... bring her back."

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the reason I updated the tags a couple days ago. Should robots count as people for purposes of the Jabberwock counter?


	18. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peko makes an interesting discovery.

**Chapter 16**

**Jabberwock Island**

The following morning, Pekoyama stirred next to her lover. She’d been sharing Kuzuryu’s cabin with him since she’d woken up, after finding out that Utsugi had taken hers. She didn’t mind, quite the opposite in fact. It was early out… still dark even. Pekoyama wasn’t usually awake this early… but this morning… why was she awake so early?

Pekoyama felt bile rising in her throat, and realised why. Sprinting to the bathroom, Pekoyama hurled over the toilet repeatedly. Her stomach and mouth felt as if they were on fire… and soon she felt as if she had nothing left to throw up.

She felt a warm hand on her back, and turned to see her lover looking at her, worry clear in his one eye. “You OK?” Kuzuryu asked.

“I feel awful.” Pekoyama admitted.

“This is the second morning in a row…” Kuzuryu mused. “We should stop by the pharmacy, grab something to help.”

Pekoyama nodded, slowly standing. “I need something to drink before we go anywhere.” She croaked.

“I’ll get you a glass of water.” Kuzuryu walked off, coming back with a glass.

Pekoyama took a drink, before spitting the water out into the sink in order to wash out the taste of the vomit. She then took a proper drink, swallowing the water this time.

In the time it had taken Pekoyama to rinse her mouth and take a drink, Kuzuryu had already gotten dressed. He handed her a jacket and jeans to slip on over her underwear, and she did so. The pair left their cottage, heading to the nearby pharmacy in order to gain supplies. They must have made too much noise though, because they soon heard Kemuri say “Big sis Peko? Big Bro Fuyuhiko? Why are you up so early?”

“Peko was feeling sick, so we were heading to the pharmacy to get her something.” Fuyuhiko smiled at Kemuri.

“Why are both of you going?”

“‘Cause Peko’s scared of the dark.”

“I am not!” Pekoyama tried to scowl, but she could feel a smile creeping onto her face.

“I was scared of the dark…” Kemuri said. “But I’m not anymore. It’s OK to be scared.”

Pekoyama laughed. “I’m not scared of the dark. Fuyuhiko’s just being silly.”

“Then what are you scared of?” Kemuri asked, his grey eyes wide and curious,

“One thing.” Pekoyama sighed. “But I’ll tell you about it another time…”

“Can I come with you?” Kemuri asked.

The couple exchanged glances.

Kuzuryu shrugged, as if to say ‘I don’t mind.’

Pekoyama smiled at Kemuri. “Why not?”

“Yay!” Kemuri yelled, then covered his mouth as he realised that everyone else would still be sleeping. “Oops.” He whispered.

Both adults suppressed a laugh as they walked with Kemuri to the docks, taking a boat to the pharmacy. Once they got there, Kuzuryu and Pekoyama began to scour the shelves for medicine, while Kemuri simply floated around, taking in the building.

Pekoyama stopped in front of a certain item, contemplating. She stared at it, thinking… was it possible… maybe… they hadn’t been the most careful couple…

“Fuyuhiko…” She said quietly, beckoning her boyfriend over.

Kuzuryu noticed what she was looking at, and furrowed his brow. “Y-you don’t think…”

“It’s a possibility.” Pekoyama nodded, grabbing one of the boxes. “I think, just to make sure…”

“What are we gonna do if it’s positive?” Kuzuryu wondered.

Kemuri had wandered over. Taking a glance at the box in Pekoyama’s hand, he frowned, reading aloud “Pregnancy test? Are you having a baby Big Sis Peko?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out. But don’t tell anyone, I don’t want to announce anything until I’m sure.”

“OK then.” Kemuri nodded. “I won’t tell.”

An hour or so later, Pekoyama had her results.

“Positive…”

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody died/got shoved into a desk this chapter! Yay! Also, the reason for the counter being off by one is revealed. There's no members of Ultimate Despair on this island... probably.
> 
> Anyway, I've got about 5 or so more chapters to go through the rest of what happens during Chisa and Ryota's visit. After that though, I was thinking of doing a bit more of a cute chapter... something nice to take away from all the doom and gloom. I made a poll (http://www.strawpoll.me/11457242) so please go and vote.  
> The options are: A Hiyoko and Mahiru chapter, since those two have essentially been extras this whole thing. They've maybe gotten three lines each?  
> Another is a Sonia and Gundam chapter, which, while they've had more focus than Hiyoko and Mahiru, have still not had any major influences on the plot.  
> The other option is Masaru, Jataro, and Kotoko getting up to various hijinks around the island, with Nagisa trying to stop them.  
> I'll probably end up writing all three of this chapters at some point in time, this poll is just to decide which comes first.
> 
> Also, any feedback is very welcome, please do not be afraid to leave a comment.


	19. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime goes to talk to Souda about a project... and here's a lighthearted chapter where Hajime's not quite so angsty.

**Chapter 17**

**Jabberwock Island**

Souda awoke to a knock on his door, and opened the door, remembering too late he had slept without clothes.

Hinata stood in the doorway, and yelped as Souda appeared completely naked in the doorway. “Jesus christ! Put some pants on!”

“Sorry!” Souda wrapped a bedsheet around his lower body. “What do you need?”

“Well, first I need to erase that image from my mind.” Hinata snarked “But I was hoping you could help me with a project…”

“Sure.” Souda nodded. “What kind?

“Well… look, will you promise not to tell anyone?”

Souda nodded again. “Definitely. You can trust me to keep a secret.”

Hinata took a deep breath, looked around to ensure nobody was near them, then said “I’m trying to recover the AI… I was really hoping you’d help…”

“The AI?” Souda asked stupidly. “OH! You mean Nanami…”

“Not so loud.” Hinata hissed. “But yeah. And I was hoping you’d help me make her a body.”

“Look, are you sure you can recover enough files to even have a shot at bringing the AI back?”

“I’m hoping so.” Hinata nodded.

“Dude, do you even have any sort of experience with programming?” Souda asked.

“Sort of.” Hinata sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Wait, one of your eyes is red. Is Kamukura-”

“NO! I lost a contact, that’s all.” Hinata glared. “I’m still me.”

“Right, I shoulda figured. If you were still Kamukura, you’d probably be going around all ‘I’m bored’ and shit.” Souda attempted to inject some levity into the conversation.

“Let’s not talk about him.” Hinata muttered darkly.

“Sorry. Anyway, I can build the body, not sure how long it’ll take or how lifelike it’ll be… wait, how are we gonna get the resources?”

Hinata looked crestfallen as the realisation sunk in.

“Look, dude, we’ll find a way.” Souda placed the hand that was holding up the bedsheet on Hinata’s shoulder, resulting in the sheet falling to the ground. “Dammit!”

Hinata groaned. “Put some pants on Souda…” He walked off, stifling a laugh.

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone willing to pass poor Hajime some brain bleach?
> 
> The poll is still up, and right now it's looking likely I'm gonna write a scene with the Warriors of Hope causing chaos. If you'd like to change that (or make sure it happens sooner rather than later) vote here: http://www.strawpoll.me/11457242
> 
> Anyway, any feedback is very, very welcome!


	20. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning meeting. AKA I suck at summaries. Have you noticed?

**Chapter 18**

**Jabberwock Island**

During the morning meal, Pekoyama picked at her food uneasily. She wasn’t sure exactly how she would announce her pregnancy… or how to feel about it. Should she announce it happily? Worriedly? How would the others take the news? And another pressing question came to mind… did she even want to keep the child? Part of her said yes, and was excited about it. Sure, she was a bit young, not even at her twenty-first birthday yet, but plenty of people had children younger. Still… was the island a good place to raise a child? And how easily would the future foundation be able to send baby supplies over?

“Are you alright Peko?”

Hinata’s voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked up to see him, looking slightly better than he had yesterday afternoon, with a concerned look on his face.

“I… I’m not sure.” Pekoyama sighed. Suddenly feeling far braver than before, she decided to stand, and in a fairly neutral tone announce. “I discovered this morning that I’m pregnant.”

Silence fell across the room.

“You’re… pregnant?” Hinata blinked.

“Congratulations!” Sonia clapped excitedly for her friend.

“Well, that’s hardly surprising. It was bound to happen sooner or later.” Komaeda said, before resuming eating. “Although I must say, I expected you to get pregnant first, Sonia.”

Sonia raised her middle finger in his direction.

“When will the stork bring the baby?” Kemuri asked.

The room went silent, until Souda groaned “Has nobody given these kids the talk?”

“What’s the talk?” Daimon wondered.

“Oh god…”

“Moving on from this, and back to the issue at hand…” Hinata stood. “Look, Peko, I am happy for you, I really am. But… where the hell are we gonna get what we need for the kid? It’s not like we can just run down to a supermarket and buy formula.”

“So I’ll breastfeed. Simple as that.” Peko looked him in the eye.

“OK… but what about a cot? I seriously doubt we have-”

“We can send things over.” Yukizome jumped in. “There are probably a few cots around some safe houses. Hajime, whatever problems that come out of this, you can solve them! All of you can. This kid is going to have a wonderful future, with two wonderful parents and a host of wonderful aunts and uncles!” She beamed at her class.

Hinata sighed. “You’re right. I… I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“There are problems we’re going to need to address.” Pekoyama said. “And we will address them. I never said I wouldn’t work to solve whatever problems arise from my pregnancy.”

“OK.” Hinata nodded. “I… I really am happy for you… I am…”

“You’re stressed.” Pekoyama acknowledged.

“Hajime, you need to let us help you.” Kuzuryu said. “Nagito said-”

“Nagito? You’re trusting him?” Hinata’s mood was instantly fouled. “You do know that practically every word that comes out of his mouth is a lie, right?”

“I would never lie about kissing you, Hajime.” Nagito smirked.

“Wait, hold up a second.” Souda blinked. “You two… kissed?”

“You are actually surprised by that?” Sonia asked.

“He kissed me. I did not kiss him back.” Hinata was going red.

“Moving on from the kissing…” Kuzuryu sighed. “Hajime, you’re clearly stressed. I mean, you ran off with no explanation yesterday, and nobody but Nagito saw you for the rest of the day.”

“I’m the one running this place, I’ve got a lot to deal with.” Hinata sighed. “So what?”

“How much have you been sleeping?” Koizumi asked. “Because I’ve seen light from your room during the middle of the night sometimes. Hajime, you’re not the only person who has to take this burden… we’re willing to share it with you.”

“I don’t want any of you to feel the need to…” Hinata mumbled.

“Hajime, we want to.” Sonia said. “We are your friends. We want to help you.”

“I came up with an idea for a committee, where people rotate every month or something.” Kuzuryu added. “That way it’s not the same person or people making the hard decisions over and over again.”

“It would hopefully get you to sleep properly.” Koizumi nodded. “And, y’know, maybe we could keep the laptop out here? Public access and all that.”

“Yeah, you keep hogging it.” Saionji agreed. “I bet you’re watching porn or something all night…”

“What’s porn?” Daimon butt in.

Ignoring the pre-teen’s question, Hinata sighed. “All right then. All in favor of the comittee idea… raise your hands.”

No hand went unraised.

“Well… who am I to shut the idea down then?” Hinata smiled. “Keep your hand up if you’d like to be part of the committee.”

People gradually began to lower their hands, until only Sonia, Kuzuryu, Pekoyama, Koizumi, Tanaka, and Togami had their hands raised. Wait… that wasn’t right. Someone else had their hand raised.

“Nagisa?” Hinata blinked in confusion.

“I want to be part of this committee. I… I think I’m capable.” Shingetsu said, nervously putting his fingers together.. “I… I want to know how to be a good leader, and I think this is a good way to start.”

“Fine by me.” Hinata nodded, giving the younger boy an encouraging smile. “So there are eight of us willing in total… OK then. I guess we can start drawing a schedule or something up soon…”

Yukizome clapped her hands in excitement. “You guys… you’re solving your problems together… I just…” Tears of joy began to flow from her eyes. “I’m so proud of all of you…”

“Aw shit…” Kuzuryu paled. “We made her cry…”

“GROUP HUG!” Yukizome grabbed her former students (and the Warriors of Hope) and pulled them all into a massive hug.

“Again, how are your arms long enough to fit around all of us?” Komaeda wondered.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Yukizome said cheerfully, letting go. “But I am so proud of all of you…”

“So you said.” Owari muttered, standing. “I’m off to go get stuff ready for Nidai’s funeral…” Her voice was hollow and broken, and her stance held none of it’s usual vigor.

“We should organise that.” Hinata nodded. “We can deal with this committee stuff later… right now we need to bury our friend.”

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chisa Yukizome has arms that defy the laws of gravity.
> 
> Just a reminder that the poll is open here: http://www.strawpoll.me/11457242 and I'm going to put an end date on it for Tuesday the 25th of October, 9:00, New Zealand Time (GMT+ 12 hours)
> 
> Again, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated (like, seriously, I fucking love feedback, so please leave a comment if you've got something to say.)


	21. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A not super angsty chapter focusing on Ryota and The Imposter! It includes more reinforcing about how EVERYTHING IS JUNKO'S FAULT! Because it is.

**Chapter 19**

**Jabberwock Island**

Mitarai and Togami walked along the beach together, talking.

“I’m honestly glad you guys are OK…” Mitarai said. “I… I felt like complete and utter crap after I found out.”

“It isn’t your fault.” Togami gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m honestly glad you weren’t with us…”

“It took me so long to come up with something to help you though… and even then, I never got to use it to help you guys.”

“It helped Miss Yukizome.”

“Only after she tried to kill Naegi… look, you can’t tell anyone I told you this, what happened at the trial was supposed to be confidential. But… at the trial… Sakakura, the head of the sixth branch, he attacked Naegi, hit him in the gut. Miss Yukizome went to give him medical care… only for Naegi to scream for help a few minutes later. Gozu and Asahina subdued miss Yukizome while we discussed what to do with her… I was the one who pointed out that she was brainwashed, and Mr Tengan suggested I use the video… I hadn’t ever used it before, and I wasn’t sure… but it worked.” Mitarai gave out a shaky laugh. “I actually made it. The anime. The anime I always wanted to make…” He glanced down at his phone.

“And you did a good job.” Togami put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s because of you that she’s still here, and herself.”

“I know… I just wish I’d been able to help you guys, is all. It’s my fau-”

“No. It’s not. You were used by Enoshima, just like the rest of us.”

“I know, but I was the one who showed her everything and-” Mitarai began to ramble.

“You were used by Enoshima. Just like the rest of us.” Togami reinforced.

“I know… but I can’t help but feel guilty about everything.”

“I understand. You think I don’t feel godawful about the things I did under her control? I know that, ultimately, I had no control over my actions, but I still feel awful about all that I did. The real Togami… I destroyed his company. Heh… he probably hates me.”

“I don’t see how anyone could hate you.” Mitarai smiled sadly. “You’re the best person I know… the kindest too.”

The Imposter let out a laugh. “Oh Ryota… you’ve not met a lot of good people, have you?”   
Mitarai shook his head, still smiling. He then stood up, and looked Togami in the eyes. “Hey... I know you volunteered to be a leader here and all… but… I was really hoping you’d be willing to come with me. Back to the mainland. Not… not necessarily as part of the Future Foundation, unless you wanted to be, but… would you be willing? I totally understand if you’re not, but we could set you up with a false identity, and nobody would know that you were, well, you, and-”

“I… I’ll think about it…” Togami sighed. “I do understand where you’re coming from, and what you want… and I will think about it”

“OK.” Mitarai nodded, feeling unsure and slightly regretting his actions.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before The Imposter smiled. “I’ve thought about it. And… I think I do want to go and see the mainland. Maybe even join the Future Foundation if they’ll accept me…”

“Y-you will?” Mitarai laughed, hugging his friend. “I… I was afraid I’d scared you off of the idea…”

“Not at all.” Togami smiled. “I’ll need time to pack, and tell the others I won’t be available for a leadership role… and, of course, we’ll need to get all the legal issues sorted out… but other than that…”

Mitarai hugged him. "Thank you. Thank you so, so much..."

 

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imposter's thought process: "Mitarai's offering me a way off this crazy-ass island, where 3 of my friends just died... FUCK THIS SHIT I'M OUT!" Also, the ammount of Ho Yay (TvTropes it) in this chapter has reached ultimate levels...
> 
> Anyways, vote on the poll here, you've got 2 or so days to do so: http://www.strawpoll.me/11457242 So far it looks like I'll be writing about the Warriors of Hope, but if enough votes go to Sonia and Gundam... just as a note, those two are two of the hardest characters for me to write, but I've included it because I figured I could use the practice. It's not looking likely that I'll write about Mahiru and Hiyoko, but if the only people who vote between now and then are hardcore shippers between the two... well, it could turn out any way. I wish to assure people however, that I will be writing all these chapters eventually, the poll's just to decide which is first.
> 
> If you notice the new thing I implemented, the 'Jabberwock Counter', it counts the number of people currently non-comatose (or dead) on Jabberwock Island. It may (or may not) be a warning of sorts in future chapters. I'm going back and updating previous chapters, as well as the description of what the Jabberwock counter is, that way people aren't wondering "What the actual fuck is the Jabberwock Counter?!" until Chapter 19.
> 
> As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!


	22. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Nekomaru's funeral...
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who has given me kudos, commented on this, or even just read it. I'm really glad that people are enjoying this fic that I've written

**Chapter 20**

**Jabberwock Island**

“Another good friend gone…” Hinata sighed, having just helped to lower Nidai into a grave next to Mioda. “Anyone have luck with finding the bits of the plane?”

“Earlier, I submerged myself in the freezing water to observe.” Tanaka said. “I could not bring any of the vile machine up to the surface with me, but through the surface of the shields for my eyes, I could read the words ‘Towa Corporation’ on the side of the plane. I… I also made a discovery in the cockpit… it was flown by Monokuma... or, at the very least, a replica.”

“No…” Shingetsu muttered. “No way… I thought we were done with her.”

“It seems little miss Towa is up to no good… again...” Komaeda sighed.

“Wait, hold up a second.” Souda blinked. “Are you guys talking about Monaca Towa? The kid who got promoted to head of a portion of her dad’s robotics company at ten?”

“Yes. Her.” Utsugi growled.

“You guys think that a kid is sending these planes over to bomb us?”

“Miss Towa is… an unstable individual. Even before meeting Enoshima, I believe she was not the kindest of people…” Komaeda sighed.

“‘Not the kindest of people’ is an understatement.” Utsugi muttered. “That little bitch could care less about anyone but herself.”

“Kotoko! Language!” Sonia gasped.

“Oh come on Big Sis Sonia, everyone around here curses…”

“Can’t deny that.” Kuzuryu smirked.

“If this Monaca girl is the one sending these planes like these… it’s a problem we need to address.” Hinata muttered.

“OK, so if we set it up so that Mahiru, Togami and I are this month’s leaders…” Fuyuhiko began.

“I’m afraid that’s not going to work.” Togami sighed. “At least, not on my part. I’m sorry to do this to you all, but… I’ll be leaving with Ryota.”

His friends turned around, all with varying degrees of shock.

Hinata, however, seemed fairly unsurprised as he stood up. “If that’s what you want to do, nobody’s going to stop you. We’ll all miss you, definitely, but we won’t stop you. Or, rather, nobody should try to stop you.”

“You have our full support!” Sonia nodded.

“Thank you…” Togami smiled. “I’m truly honored to call you all my friends…”

“And we’re honored that you’re ours.” Kuzuryu grinned.

“Well, I suppose it’ll be nice to have someone other than Mr Moody for company on the ship.” Chisa said, earning a glare from Mitarai.

“Back to what I was saying before…” Kuzuryu sighed. “Could we set up some sort of raid in Towa City, figure out if it really is this Monaca kid attacking us?”

“Absolutely not!” Yukizome butt in. “If anyone here leaves the island without proper permission from the Future Foundation… things could get nasty. Especially if it’s to go off into a potentially violent situation.”

“So what the fuck are we supposed to do then?” Kuzuryu scowled.

“I will have Sakakura send some people to investigate.”

“Sakakura? That guy couldn’t investigate his way out of a paper bag.” Hinata snarked. “How exactly did he become the head of a Future Foundation branch?”

“Juzo Sakakura is a good friend of mine, and I will not have you putting him down.” Yukizome said, glaring in Hinata’s direction.

“Yeah, well excuse me for being bitter over him beating the shit out of me a few years ago.” Hinata scowled.

“He did it to protect you… but Juzo’s not the best at getting his message across in a way that doesn’t involve punching.”

“Uh huh. I’m definitely gonna buy that. And this is our problem, so we’ll handle it.”

“And, if I remember correctly, the Future Foundation didn’t exactly have the best time in Towa City last time around…” Komaeda smirked.

“Still. If you guys leave the island, there are certain people who won’t take it well…” Yukizome said. “I will have some people sent into Towa City to investigate. You all need to stay on this island. Please.”

“It probably is for the best…” Koizumi sighed. “I mean, no offense to anyone, but we don’t really have muscle to spare right now… Peko, you’re pregnant, Akane, you’re not at your best, and Nekomaru…”

A grim silence fell across the room.

“What do you mean, not at my best?” Owari asked, her voice cold and harsh.

“It’s fairly obvious that Nekomaru’s death has affected you.” Koizumi said, trying to reach out to her friend. “I get that you’re trying to act strong and all, but… we are here for you.”

“I don’t need help.” Owari turned and walked off.

After a few moments of silence, Hinata spoke up. “Let’s all get some rest… I think it’ll help us all.”

“You’re actually going to sleep, and not spend all night attempting to recover Chiaki, right?” Yukizome asked, in a quiet enough voice so that only Hinata could hear.

Hinata turned to her. “H-how do-”

“I’m not an idiot, that’s how.” Yukizome smirked. “Give most of your friends the opportunity, and they can figure it out easily. Good luck getting her back.” She gave Hinata a big hug. “But don’t let this consume your life.”

“Yeah. OK.” Hinata muttered.

“I mean it.” Yukizome said, before walking off.

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid the poll is closed now, and the chapter I will write after the next one is... *drum roll* a fun chapter with Kotoko, Masaru, and Jataro causing chaos while Nagisa tries to stop them! It was 13 votes for that, 12 votes for some cute Sonia and Gundam, and 3 votes for Hiyoko and Mahiru.  
> So, what's gonna happen with this is, I'll write the chapter with the Warriors of Hope (Which is 2 chapters away), then probably the Sonia and Gundam one a chapter after that, and because I've had the idea to make the Hiyoko and Mahiru one quite important to the main story, that won't be too long afterwards. So rejoice, shippers, all 3 of these events are happening! 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and any and all feedback is very welcome!


	23. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chisa, Ryota, and the Imposter head back to the mainland... and really, not much important happens in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I start this, I just want to say thank you for 100+ kudos, and almost 3500 hits. I've really enjoyed writing this, and I'm glad that people are entertained by my work. Thank you to everyone who's left a comment with some sort of feedback, to everyone who's left a kudos on this work, and just to anyone reading this. It really makes my day to know that people enjoy what I write.

**Chapter 21**

**Jabberwock Island**

A couple days later, Yukizome, Mitarai and The Imposter were ready to leave for the mainland. Everyone gathered around to give their farewells.

“I’m gonna miss you, porkfeet.” Saionji said to The Imposter.

“I will miss you too, Hiyoko. Your colorful insults, on the other hand…”

“Oh you’ll miss those, and you damn well know it.”

“We’ll see.” Togami laughed.

“You sure you aren’t wanting to take all your wigs and extra outfits?” Mitarai asked him.

“Not really.” The Imposter shrugged. “If anyone wants them, they can grab them.”

“Good luck out there.” Komaeda nodded at Togami. “Watch out for iron skewers.”

“That’s… not funny.”

“Sorry… my sense of humor isn’t the greatest.” Komaeda laughed.

“I can tell…”

“All right… it’s time we headed off.” Yukizome smiled. “It was nice to see everyone again…”

“Yeah.” Mitarai nodded. “Look, if we find out anything about this Towa girl, we’ll let you guys know right away.”

“Thanks a lot.” Hinata said. “Anything you can do to figure out who’s attacking us would be great…”

“No promises that we will find anything, but we’ll do our best.” Yukizome hugged him. “You guys just keep doing your best to manage yourselves.” Then she whispered into Hinata’s ear. “And… don’t let Kamukura out.”

Hinata pulled back. “How…”

“Don’t question it.” Yukizome walked towards the ship, waving at her former class.

Mitarai and Togami followed close behind, and the inhabitants of Jabberwock Island watched as it went on it’s way back to the mainland.

“Togami left us his wigs and outfits…” Utsugi muttered, before sprinting off to his cabin. “I call dibs!”

“Wait up!” Daimon ran after her.

“They cannot be planning anything good…” Shingetsu muttered, following them with Kemuri walking behind dutifully.

“Oh dear… it seems more chaos is about to unfold.” Komaeda chuckled.

“At least this will be the good kind of chaos… probably…” Sonia nodded.

“Here’s hoping.” Hinata agreed. “I’ve had enough of the bad kind to last a lifetime…”

  
JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've got a basic plan for how long I want this to be, and currently, I have an aim of 40 chapters, all with their basic plotlines planned out. My current plans for the last 10 chapters are very, very dark, including plenty of violence, death, and what is likely to be a very graphic torture scene. So, in short, it won't be long before this fic gets really, really dark. I'll try not to make it too depressing, however, but NOBODY is making it out of this unscathed.
> 
> Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I assure you that the next two chapters will be providing some levity. I've got some fun chaos for Kotoko, Masaru, and Jataro to cause, and some cute Sonia and Gundam moments. No death or major depression in these two chapters.
> 
> One more thing: I know this fic is mostly focused on the SDR2 cast and the Warriors of Hope, but would anyone object to a chapter focusing on Komaru and Toko? I'm planning on using them as a way to advance the plot, but considering they've only been mentioned so far, and won't really play a role after what I have planned for them, I'm not completely certain if I want to implement them, but I'm not sure what I would do instead.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoyed and please, feel free to leave a comment below. Seriously, seeing a comment on this makes my day, nine times out of ten at least.


	24. Chapter 22 (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the chaos caused by the WOH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, since this is taking me forever to write, (due to studying and various other projects) I'm just gonna post what I have so far, and call it the first half of the chapter. The second half will be up... hopefully soon.

**Chapter 22**

**Jabberwock Island**

“Big sis Mahiru! Open the door!” Utsugi’s voice came from outside the cottage as she pounded on the door.

“Mmm… tell ‘em to talk at the meeting.” Saionji muttered, curled up next to Mahiru.

“No, I’ve got it.” Koizumi yawned, getting up and walking to the door. As she opened it, she stopped, blinked, and took in the situation.

Utsugi stood in front of the door, wearing a massive white wig. She was also dressed in a large green hoodie, the sleeves of which completely eclipsed her arms. “Look at me, I’m big bro Nagito!” She slipped into a voice similar to Komaeda’s, but with a mocking edge to it. “I looooove hope, and talent! I also want to have lots of hope babies with Hajime! I also make the worst milkshakes ever!”

Koizumi tried to hold back the smile. She tried to hold back the laughter. But Saionji cracking up from the back of her cabin caused her to erupt into a massive fit of giggles.

Utsugi giggled along the older girls, before sprinting off in the direction of Sonia’s cabin.

***

“What’re you building, big bro Kaz?” Kemuri wandered up to Souda.

“Gah! Jataro, you scared me.” Souda turned back to the humanoid form he was working on.

“Is it a robot?”

“Yeah… look, don’t tell anyone about it, OK? Hajime doesn’t want the word being spread…”

“What kind of weapons does it have?” Kemuri enquired. “Do it’s arms turn into big machine guns?”

“Er… no… it’s not that kind of robot…” Souda muttered.

Kemuri noticed Daimon creeping through the door. The athlete motioned for his friend to keep talking, so Kemuri continued. “What kind of robot doesn’t have arms that turn into big machine guns? All good robots have machine guns on their arms…”

“Yeah, well this robot’s gonna be just fine without ‘em.” Souda sighed, continuing to work on the robot.

“What’s the robot for?” Kemuri asked, noticing Daimon climbing up a high shelf.

“It’s… hopefully something Hajime and I can use to help a friend…”

“Which friend?” Kemuri asked.

“It’s not someone you’d know.” Souda muttered.

Kemuri noticed Daimon creeping down the shelf, a box of fireworks in his arms. “C’mon big bro… I wanna know!”

“It’s complicated.” Souda sighed. “Look, Jataro, usually I don’t mind chatting, but I’m really trying to focus on this… “

“OK…” Jataro pouted, walking off. Outside, Daimon grinned at him.

“Thanks for that.”

“So that’s the fireworks… now we need to make one of the outfits.” Kemuri said. 

“Yeah… Kotoko’s figuring everything out now.” Daimon nodded.

***

“Big bro Fuyuhiko! Big sis Peko!” Utsugi yelled. “Wanna see my Gundam impression?” She stood, dressed in a too large overcoat and a massive scarf.

“Ah, what the hell. Give it your best shot, kiddo.” Kuzuryu grinned.

Utsugi cleared her throat, before speaking in a deep voice “I AM GUNDAM TANAKA, THE DARK OVERLORD! I WILL USE MY TWELVE ADORABLE HAMSTERS OF DEATH TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Pekoyama laughed. “Very clever Kotoko.”

“A damn good impression.” Kuzuryu grinned

“That is indeed an admirable impression of me.” came a new voice from behind them. “However, I would never refer to the Twelve Zodiac Generals as ‘Adorable Hamsters of Death.’”

Tanaka walked up to Utsugi, noticeably not wearing his coat and scarf. “If you wouldn’t mind…”

Utsugi took off the coat and scarf, handing them back to Tanaka. She was still wearing Komaeda's jacket underneath.

“Thank you.” Tanaka said.

Utsugi grinned, before sprinting off.

***

“Hey Nagisa.” Hinata greeted the younger boy as he came into the dining room.

“You said you needed to talk to me?” Shingetsu sat down next to him.

Hinata nodded, indicating the laptop in front of them. “I’ve been digging through the files here best I can, and while I haven’t had much luck with my main goal, I did find some interesting things on here about Hope’s Peak.” He opened a text file.

“‘The Project’... very ominous.” Shingetsu noted.

“It’s about the Izuru Kamukura project.” Hinata sighed. “It was an inhumane project set up by Hope’s Peak Academy to give one person every talent ever.”

“How would that work for talents like ‘princess’?” Shingetsu wondered.

“Beats me.” Hinata shrugged.

The two read through the files, Shingetsu’s face growing more and more horrified as he read through. “Jesus…”

Hinata nodded gravely. “Yeah.”

“And there were eight subjects… jesus christ…” Shingetsu looked ill.

“It’s awful.” Hinata agreed.

“Hold on… why are you showing me this? Eight students were tested on for this sick project, and one survived to become this talent god. What does that have to do with us?”

“Look through the names of the subjects.”

Shingetsu obeyed, and his eyes widened as he saw the final subject on the list. “You…”

Hinata nodded. “The others know… at least, the others who were in the program with me. But what they don’t know is that the program didn’t erase Kamukura. He’s still inside my head…”

“You’ve got a second personality in there?” Shingetsu’s eyes widened. “Wait… does this count as dissociative identity disorder or not?”

“I don’t think so. I’m no expert on the subject, but Kamukura can’t take control unless I let him. And I’m not letting him.”

“So… why are you telling me this then?” Shingetsu asked. 

“Because, I needed to tell someone, and, in all honesty… you’re the person I feel that I can trust most with this. You… you remind me of me, to be honest.”

“How, exactly?” Shingetsu blinked.

“Well, you don’t take anyone’s shit, for one thing. And you’re a leader… you look out for people. Hell, you’re probably a better leader than I am…”

“You really think so?” Shingetsu asked.

“Nagisa, I’ve seen the way you act with the others.” Hinata smiled encouragingly at the boy. “They listen to you… for the most part. And they think highly of you… all three of them have admitted that you’re the smartest one in your group, and I’d agree.”

“You really think so?”

“Definitely. I’m glad you four came to this island… it really wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“I can’t help but feel as if the reason you’re being targeted by Monaca is because of us though.” Shingetsu began. “She… she was our friend. At least… we thought of her as a friend. I don’t think she saw us as anything more than toys to play with though…”

Hinata nodded. “It sucks that there are people like that in the world. But the best we can do is grit our teeth and move on. Leave those people behind, and focus on the things that matter. It’s not easy, but it is all we can do.”

“I… I liked Monaca. Like-liked her. And… I don’t know, I still have some of those feelings… but also… I want to hate her. I want to hate her horribly. But… I can’t. Not completely.”

“It’s complicated, I get it.” Hinata nodded. “I… honestly, I kind of feel the same way towards Nagito…”

“So that’s why you’re acting like such a Tsundere.” Shingetsu smirked. “Come on, I’m thirteen years old and I could tell that you don’t hate him as much as you say you do.”

“You’re thirteen?” Hinata blinked in confusion. “When you arrived on the island, you told me you were all twelve…”

“It… well, it’s my birthday… I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, since we had a party for Big Sis Sonia not long after Miss Yukizome arrived…”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t have one for you.” Hinata said.

Shingetsu opened his mouth to respond, but  didn’t get a chance as Utsugi ran through. “Kotoko, what-” he started, but the pink haired girl had already sprinted through the dining hall.

“Was… was she wearing Nagito’s jacket?” Hinata blinked.

“I think that was a white wig.” Shingetsu muttered. “I’ll go figure out what she’s up to…” He sprinted after Utsugi.

***

Komaeda sat alone in his room, looking at his hand. No… that hand wasn’t his. It was hers. That hand belonged to Junko Enoshima… and Komaeda was ready to have it gone. He began digging in his drawer for a knife, or a needle, or something he could use to undo the crude stitches around his wrist. Finding a pocketknife that the others had failed to confiscate hidden in his desk drawer, he pulled it out, sitting down on his bed. Hopefully a change of sheets was available… and if not, trash like him didn’t really need sheets to sleep anyway. He dug the knife between the stitches… before there was a knock on his door.

Komaeda withdrew the knife, and hid his slightly bleeding hand behind his back as he opened the door. He’d have hidden the hand within his jacket, only that had vanished from the laundromat yesterday. As the door finished opening, Komaeda’s eyes widened, first in confusion, then narrowed slightly in amusement, as the person who had knocked on the door was Utsugi… dressed in his jacket, with a white wig on top of her head

“I’m Nagito, and I loooooove hope and talent! I also want to have lots and lots and lots and lots of hope babies with Hajime!”

“So that’s where my jacket went.” Komaeda said, amused.

Utsugi grinned. “Don’t try to say that wasn’t a good impression! I was the ‘Lil Ultimate Drama, don’t forget.”

“How could I? May I have my jacket back please?”

Utsugi nodded, taking the jacket off and handing it back to Komaeda. “Can you come help me and Masaru and Jataro with a project please?”

“What kind of project?”

“A birthday present for Nagisa..”

Komaeda nodded. “All right then. Lead the way.”

As he slipped his jacket back on and walked out of the cabin, Utsugi noticed his bleeding wrist. “What happened to your hand, big bro Nagito?”

“It’s not my hand.” Komaeda responded, as Shingetsu ran up to them.

“Kotoko, what’re you doing?” He asked.

“Oh, nothing.” Utsugi answered.

Shingetsu’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing? Really?”

Utsugi inched back, slightly inside Komaeda’s cabin.

“Generally, when you say you’re up to nothing, it means you’re up to something.” Shingetsu advanced, until the pair were inside the cabin. “C’mon Kotoko, spill.”

Instead of answering, Utsugi sprinted outside, whirling around and slamming the door behind her. She then pulled a key out of her pocket and locked the door behind her. “The lock inside is rusted shut, right?”

Komaeda nodded, opening his mouth to likely comment about the luck of the situation when Utsugi grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the exit. “C’mon! We gotta get the present ready!”

Komaeda nodded, following dutifully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnn... Nagisa is trapped inside Nagito's cabin! What will he find in there?
> 
> (totally not pictures of Hajime plastered everywhere.)
> 
> Please leave a comment with some feedback! Seriously, I get really excited whenever I see feedback, so don't be shy about leaving a comment!


	25. Chapter 22 (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa finds out what exactly is inside Komaeda's room... and other hijinks ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK! Sorry about the long hiatus, life (and other projects) got in the way.

“HEY! KOTOKO! KOMAEDA! LET ME OUT!” Shingetsu banged on the cabin walls. “THIS ISN’T FUNNY!”

After not getting a response, he began pacing around the cabin, clearly irritated. Noticing the slightly bloody pocketknife on Komaeda’s bed, he picked it up, confused and worried. “Why would he have a knife?” Shingetsu wondered.

There was banging from the other side of the door, and Hinata yelled “Nagisa? Are you in there?”

“Yeah. Komaeda and Kotoko locked me inside…”

“What the hell…” Hinata muttered, jiggling the handle of the door. “Why’d they do that?”

“You think I know?!”

“Is there a lock on the inside?”

“Yeah…” Shingetsu groaned. “It’s rusted shut and won’t work though…”

“I bet Komaeda’s bullshit played into that.” Hinata sighed. “And all the room keys are unique… hold on, I’ll get Owari to help me break the door down…”

Shingetsu heard his footsteps walking away from the door. Begining to examine the room,  he picked up the knife again. It was definitely bloody… but whose blood was it? Komaeda’s himself? Shingetsu placed the knife back on the desk, as the door shook.

After a few shakes, it burst open, Owari stumbling in. She glanced around. “Huh. I expected there to be more creepy shit.” She muttered, before walking out again, not showing any of her usual cheeriness.

“She’s been like that since Nidai…” Hinata sighed sadly. “Nothing any of us do seem to bring her out of it… anyway, we need to figure out what Komaeda and Kotoko are up to…”

***

“All right everyone!” Utsugi walked over to Daimon and Kemuri with Komaeda. “I got big bro Nagito to help us with this…”

“Ooh, that’s good. Because this is really heavy.” Kemuri indicated the package next to him that was covered in wrapping paper.

Utsugi set her bag down, and pulled out a wig and outfit from it. “Big sis Sonia helped me make the outfit the best she could, and there was some wig dye that I used.”

“It looks good…” Kemuri said. “But, uh… how do we dress a dummy?”

“Like you dress a person. Duh.” Daimon rolled his eyes, as he got out the dress that Kotoko had made, and began to shove it onto the firework-filled dummy. 

“Careful you don’t break anything.” Utsugi said.

“I am being careful!” Masaru finished dressing the dummy.

Kemuri placed the wig on top of it’s head, then grinned. “Perfect!

“We’ve got company.” Komaeda announced, as Hinata and Shingetsu approached in the distance.

“It’s not dark enough yet…” Daimon groaned. “Our surprise is gonna be ruined… if only they can wait for ten more minutes or something…”

“Wait for it…” Kemuri muttered.

From across the water, a series of fireworks shot out of Souda’s lab, and the pink-haired mechanic’s high-pitched screams could be heard clearly from where the group was.

“How the hell did you manage to set that up while talking to him?” Daimon’s eyes were wide as he turned to his friend.

Kemuri simply grinned. “A magician never tells his secrets.”

In the distance, they could see Hinata and Shingetsu talking, before Shingetsu turned and giot back on the boat, presumably to check on Souda, while Hinata continued approaching.

Utsugi pulled the two younger boys closer and began whispering to them. A few seconds later, she turned to Komaeda. “Big Bro Nagito, can you distract big bro Hajime while we go and set this up?” She asked.

Komaeda nodded, turning to face Hinata as the trio of preteens ran off with the dummy.

“Komaeda, what the hell’s going on?” Hinata said, as he approached.

“It’s a surprise, I assume for Nagisa’s birthday.” Komaeda said calmly.

“Right…” Hinata began walking towards the trio, but Komaeda put his hand on Hinata’s shoulder shoulder, stopping him.

“We need to talk.” He said, calmly.

“What about?” Hinata sighed.

“Everything. What happened in the simulation, what’s happened since…”

“OK…” Hinata looked at him, waiting for Komaeda to continue.

“Well, OK, when I said everything, I meant ‘You and me’. I love you, Hajime Hinata. I want to know, honestly, whether or not you love me as well.”

“Komaeda… I…” Hinata sighed. “I don’t hate you. I’m… unsure whether or not I love you… is that good enough of an answer?”

“I suppose.” Komaeda shrugged. “I understand if you won’t ever forgive me for what I did. Though… I do take back what I said before, about my actions being justified.” His tone changed from one of sadness and regret to his standard neutral tone. “Would you be willing to go on a date with me, Hajime?”

“...” Hinata was silent for what seemed like hours to Komaeda. When the latter was about to lie and say something about how he was only joking, Hinata’s eyes locked with his, and a small smile appeared on his face. “Yes. I would be. One, at least.”

“One was all I asked for.” Was it possible for one to die of happiness? Because Nagito Komaeda felt very close to doing so. “Are you willing to do so… tommorow, maybe? In the afternoon?”

“Fine by me.” Hinata sighed, before locking eyes with Komaeda again. “But… I should apologize too. I’ve been a complete and utter dick to you since you woke up… I’m sorry for that. “

“You don’t need to apolo-” Komaeda began.

“Yes. I did.”

***

Shingetsu ran into Souda’s workshop, seeing the pink haired mechanic screeching his head off. “FIREWORKS! GOING OFF! IN MY WORKSHOP!” The rest of his yelling was an unintelligible mess. 

Shingetsu sighed. “It’s a prank, big bro. Set up by Jataro, if I had to guess.

“Oh, uh… I knew that.” Souda grinned. 

“Sure you did. Good to see you’re all right though… were any of your projects damaged?”

“I doubt it…” Souda said. “Most o’ the stuff in there’s not fragile enough…”

“That’s good, at least…”

“Nagisa!” Utsugi ran up, grinning at her friend. “Come follow me!” She began pulling on his arm.

“Kotoko, what-” Shingetsu began, but Utsugi interrupted.

“Wait and see!” She grinned. She pulled him over to the center of the island, where Kemuri and Daimon stood beside a straw dummy. Nagisa’s eyes narrowed as he saw how they’d dressed it up.

“What the hell is this?” He asked, trying to stay calm.

“Your birthday present!” Kemuri grinned, pulling out a lighter. He lit the fuse under the dummy, and the straw version of Monaca Towa shot up into the air, before exploding in a bright display of fireworks.

“That… was…” Shingetsu shook his head.

“Did you like it?” Kemuri beamed at him.

“I… guess? It’s an odd present, but… well, you guys put in a lot of effort, clearly.” Shingetsu smiled at his friends. “So… thank you.”

The four embraced in a large group hug.

From afar, Hajime Hinata watched the four friends, and he smiled. Jabberwock Island wouldn’t be the same without those four… and he was glad they were around.

JABBERWOCK COUNTER: 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's this chapter! Hopefully I'll go back to semi-regular updates again now, sorry for the long wait!
> 
> As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!


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